Mustelidae; the Spear-mice of Britain
The Mustelidae family contains a diverse range of predators inhabiting every continent. From America to Asia to Africa live fierce badgers that are capable of moving goalposts, playful riparian otters, domesticated ferrets, abhorred mink, arboreal pine martens and the smallest mammalian carnivore on the planet, the least weasel.
Eight such species inhabit the UK today; six are native; the badger (Meles meles), otter (Lutra lutra), stoat (Mustela erminea), weasel (M. nivalis), polecat (M. putorius) & pine marten (Martes martes). The other two are the American mink (Neovison vison) and the feral ferret (Mustela furo) which is in fact a domesticated polecat that arrived here with settlers from mainland Europe a long time ago and although feral ferrets and ferret-polecat hybrids are widespread in the UK they are not included beyond this page. The American mink is a species brought from North America to the UK in 1929 for the purpose of farming it for its fur. Some accidental & deliberate releases combined with escapes and the sabotage of fur farms by animal rights campaigners meant that it had become a widespread species by the 1970's.
Eight such species inhabit the UK today; six are native; the badger (Meles meles), otter (Lutra lutra), stoat (Mustela erminea), weasel (M. nivalis), polecat (M. putorius) & pine marten (Martes martes). The other two are the American mink (Neovison vison) and the feral ferret (Mustela furo) which is in fact a domesticated polecat that arrived here with settlers from mainland Europe a long time ago and although feral ferrets and ferret-polecat hybrids are widespread in the UK they are not included beyond this page. The American mink is a species brought from North America to the UK in 1929 for the purpose of farming it for its fur. Some accidental & deliberate releases combined with escapes and the sabotage of fur farms by animal rights campaigners meant that it had become a widespread species by the 1970's.