European polecat populations. Compared to other British carnivores, such as otters and badgers, the polecat has received little exposure in popular media. A study conducted on rural school children showed only 3.8% of the surveyed children could identify polecats in photographs, whereas 83.7% correctly identified otters. A caged polecat appears as a key character of Saki's short story "Sredni Vashtar". European polecat The European polecat ("Mustela putorius") – also known as the common ferret, black or forest polecat, or fitch (as well as some other names) – is a species of mustelid native to western Eurasia and north Morocco. It is of
European polecat tail is sometimes used for the making of paintbrushes. One disadvantage of polecat skin, however, is its unpleasant odour, which is difficult to remove. The European polecat was first commercially farmed for its fur in Great Britain during the 1920s, but was only elevated to economic importance in Finland in 1979. It never became popular in the United States and Canada, due to import laws regarding non-native species. It did gain economic importance in the USSR, though. Unlike the stoat and least weasel, the European polecat is easy to breed in captivity. According to Aubyn Trevor-Battye, the European polecat is