Pet owners have been warned to be vigilant following a spate of mink attacks on small animals in Co Donegal.
An animal welfare charity say they have been informed of several attacks in and around the Ardara and Donegal Town areas.
A number of hens, cats and even a small dog have been attacked by the vicious creatures.
Local charity Animals in Need, which looks after dozens of cats and dogs, have appealed to people to be vigilant.
The group is warning anyone with small pets to be vigilant for the creatures, which are an invasive species and can kill small animals that are kept outside.
“Anybody with rabbits, hens, guinea pigs or birds' aviaries need to be on the lookout and make sure all is locked up tightly,” said a spokesperson.
One person in Ardara said they had a number of hens killed by wild mink last week.
Maria Diver said “Five of our hens were killed in the Ardara area”.
Another woman, Maria McGonagle, who lives in the Buncrana area, said the mink are everywhere.
“They sucked the blood out of three of our hens. I hate the horrible creatures. We lost six of our chickens and the fox took the rest. They’re everywhere,” she said.
The rise in the number of wild mink in Donegal is believed to be related to a massive escape of mink from a farm outside Ardara in 2010.
It is understood that at least 5,000 of the farmed mink escaped in what some believe was a malicious attempt to free the creatures.
However, the future of Ireland’s three fur farms is numbered.
Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed gained cabinet approval earlier this year to proceed with the phasing out of fur farming.
An estimated 200,000 mink are killed in the farms each year.
The Government will now bring forward a Bill to introduce a phased ban on current fur farming in Ireland and the Bill will also make it illegal for any new fur farms to be established.
