The FIEB Foundation is developing its captive breeding project for the conservation of the European mink.

The Foundation for Research in Ethology and Biodiversity (FIEB), with the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment, is developing the project “Support for the Ex situ Conservation Programme of the European mink: improving the viability and development of ethological studies”.

This project is carrying out the captive breeding of the European mink as part of the European Mink Conservation Programme belonging to the National Conservation Strategy of the species. In this framework, it is proposed to expand the facilities available for captive breeding, with the aim of providing the program with greater capacity to house specimens of the captive animal for breeding and to increase the versatility of the available facilities, since the new facilities are focused on improving the management of specimens with a view to possible reintroductions. In addition, and in parallel, it is proposed to develop studies of the behavior of the species, mainly the description of the ethogram of the species in captivity and analysis of levels of corticosteroids in feces and hair, to objectively evaluate the impact of captivity and improve the interpretation of the observed behaviors, which may have an impact on a better understanding and knowledge of the European mink and, therefore, in improvements in its handling.

The FIEB Foundation has opted to create a network between all the entities involved by organizing an annual meeting and offering online tools that favor communication and access to the information published on the target species to all the people who work with it.