Stoats and weasels are Britain's smallest mustelids, declining due to prey availability changes and some persecution, playing important roles in ecosystem balance.
Stoat and weasel welfare is primarily affected by prey availability and accidental trapping. In years of prey population crashes, these specialist predators experience starvation. Poorly managed trapping programmes catch non-target stoats and weasels, causing suffering and death in animals providing genuine ecosystem benefit. Maintaining prey habitat to support diverse small mammal populations benefits stoats and weasels while also providing welfare benefits for the prey species through habitat quality. Targeted trapping programmes should use species-specific designs minimising non-target capture.