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The European polecat is afforded both national and European protection; it is listed on Schedule 6 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and Regulation 41 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 and is listed on Annex V of the Habitats Directive. [75]
Polecat is a common name for several mustelid species in the order Carnivora and subfamilies Ictonychinae [1] and Mustelinae. Polecats do not form a single taxonomic rank (i.e. clade ). The name is applied to several species with broad similarities to European polecats , such as having a dark mask-like marking across the face.
The main threats to black-footed polecats are disease, habitat loss, and human-introduced diseases. [13] The European polecat's main threat is vehicle collisions, and other threats include traps and poisoning through rats and other small mammals exposed to rodenticides. [14]
Steppe polecat: Southeast Europe and Northern Asia Southern Asia Mustela furo Linnaeus, 1758: Domestic ferret: Domestic Worldwide (domesticated); New Zealand (non-native) Mustela putorius Linnaeus, 1758: European polecat: Europe, North Africa and Northern Asia Mustela nigripes (Audubon and Bachman, 1851) Black-footed ferret: North America
Today, some mustelids are threatened for other reasons. Sea otters are vulnerable to oil spills and the indirect effects of overfishing; the black-footed ferret, a relative of the European polecat, suffers from the loss of American prairie; and wolverine populations are slowly declining because of habitat destruction and persecution.
The decline in marbled polecat populations thought to be due to habitat loss and reduction in available prey due to use of rodenticides. [14] [12] [15] Data revealed that from the west to the east, a gradual decrease in morphological diversity was seen in polecat skulls, thus giving location as a factor to diversify the polecats.
The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), also known as the American polecat [4] or prairie dog hunter, [5] is a species of mustelid native to central North America. The black-footed ferret is roughly the size of a mink and is similar in appearance to the European polecat and the Asian steppe polecat. It is largely nocturnal and solitary ...
The ferret (Mustela furo) is a small, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae.The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat (Mustela putorius), as evidenced by the ferret's ability to interbreed with European polecats and produce hybrid offspring.