Safety

Safety for personnel

It is customary to wear strong protective gloves when handling mink. Remember that these must always be worn when handling mink so as to prevent injury should the mink bite. Protective gloves are also important for protecting the mink. If the person who handles the mink is afraid of being bitten, it may be difficult for them to handle the mink calmly and safely. This may result in a risk of the mink being handled roughly and becoming stressed if they manage to escape. Also remember that individuals that are normally calm may become stressed in a new situation and hence behave aggressively and attempt to protect themselves if they become fearful.

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Protective gloves must always be worn when handling mink as the animals may attempt to bite if they are afraid. This may harm the person handling the animals and subject the animals to unnecessary suffering if they manage to escape or are handled roughly if the person handling the animals is afraid of being bitten. Photograph: SLU.

Chinchillas may also bite if they are afraid or feel threatened, so a pair of soft gloves is preferable. Gloves that are excessively strong should not be used as this may make it difficult to feel the chinchilla through the gloves. This is because they are very sensitive to firm pressure and may be injured if they are handled roughly. Wearing gloves and a jumper also helps to promote the safety of the chinchilla as there is a risk of the chinchilla being injured if it is dropped on the ground after having bitten its handler.

Mink may bite and become stressed when they are lifted up. They may also be fearful when they see a glove moving into the cage and consider it to be an intruder, causing them to react aggressively. Approach the cage with calm, slow movements and open the cage hatch carefully. Continue to move your hand carefully towards the mink. if the mink looks as though it may attempt to run away, rapid action may be necessary with a view to avoiding stress for the mink by hunting it in the cage. Grab hold of the mink over the back, behind the shoulder blades or around the base of the tail. Note that you must never grab hold of the tip of the mink’s tail, as this may cause the mink pain if it attempts to run away. Then lift the mink with your other hand under its abdomen.

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The two videos above show two different ways of taking mink out of their cages. Photograph: SLU

A fearful mink will often shrink back in the cage when you approach, its posture becomes rigid and its gaze is focused on whatever is frightening it. Photograph: SLU.

Mink often make noises when they feel threatened. Frightened mink frequently cry to warn others. These cries are loud and long. The cries of aggressive mink are shorter and are mixed with spitting, hissing noises. Hedlund White mink are often louder than other colour types on account of their limited hearing. As mentioned in the section on biological principles, mink can make noises that we humans are unable to hear. This means that mink can influence one another through sound to a greater extent than we can perceive.