Joseph Carter, aptly titled “The Mink Man” was born in Utah, and raised all across the country, but returned multiple times to Utah, where he now continues to live with his wife, Maggie, and their three beautiful daughters. Over the past two decades he has amassed a large online following and given plenty of insight into the lives and care of the American Mink. While still young, his girls are quickly starting to follow in his footsteps and can work with mink better than most adults, which fills him with great pride and joy.
Carter, with a background in training raptors, has been training and working with mink since 2003, when he tamed his first mink and uncovered a true passion for them. While there were countless naysayers who told him that it could not be done, and that these animals were utterly vicious and merciless, he quickly succeeded in the task at hand and has not looked back since.
In 2014, after a decade of trial and error, Carter published his first book called, “The New Sport of Minkenry: The Art of Taming, Training, and Hunting with One of Nature’s Most Intense Predators”. He has mentioned that he would like to publish a revised version of this book, as with time and increased experience some of his techniques have adjusted and evolved, while others have been perfected.
In 2019, Carter and his wife decided that he would quit his current employment and work full-time as the Mink Man, providing a very natural, eco-friendly method of pest control… hunting with his mink and dogs. This very unique business has been successful for Carter, securing him contracts with the local cities, and even private pest control bids in other states across the US. While the results of these hunts speak for themselves, so do the continued praise from employers and city officials, stating how incredible the results are.
Carter remains a prominent figure in the world of mink, often being one of the first to discover new things or helping correct inaccurate information. He has a successful YouTube channel which shares many of the adventures and hunts his mink go on, often captured on video by his very supportive wife. Maggie also helps him run a Facebook group dedicated to mink lovers across the globe, as well as education on mink.
Carter’s private home is another testament to his understanding and involvement with mink, the backyard featuring many large cages, each dedicated to an individual mink, providing ample opportunity to climb and stock tanks to swim in. The most breath-taking feature of the entire landscape is the large, custom designed natural pond with its small babbling waterfall used for exercising and training his mink.
