[Nightranger]

Originally Posted by Rob_D

Nightranger, I think the situation has changed dramatically in the Midlands and South in the last 30 years. The Distribution and Status of the Polecat Mustela Putorius in Britain in the 1990s.

Thanks Rob,

Part of me likes to be optimistic but on the other hand, I have seen too many alternative explanations when good news stories have come out in the past. I am a confirmed Mustelid fanatic so I hope they come back anyway. In this case, the captive genes may not be adverse to a wild setting other than the purists not liking the captive colour morphs so it may not be so critical how polecats make it back into our countryside. The one thing that concerns me is that captive morphs in the countryside will give an easy opportunity for people to dump unwanted pets (a potential welfare nightmare) so reintroduction of wild morphs would still be the better option. Jersey has quite a number of feral ferrets and whilst not necessarily as conservation issue, they are clearly captive escapees and there could be similar local parallels on the mainland. Great topic to talk about though.