The Polecat Survey of Britain 2004-2006: A Report on the Polecat’s Distribution, Status and Conservation

This report confirms that the polecat’s recovery in Britain is continuing; it is now widely re-established across Wales, the Midlands and central southern England. Over the 2004-2006 survey period, 1,273 records of polecats and polecat-ferrets were received. The report examines regional patterns in the occurrence of these two closely related forms, and defines ‘Polecat Purity Zones’ based on the proportion of verifiably true polecat records from each county. Predictably, the purest populations are in the Polecat’s historical Welsh stronghold, with an increasing frequency of polecat-ferrets in populations towards the periphery of the English range and in outlier populations. The main areas of recent polecat range expansion are all in England, based on the counties of Derby, Bucks, Berks, Wilts, Hants and Dorset. A new population estimate suggests that there are now 46,784 polecats in Britain.