The polecat was nearly exterminated from Britain by persecution but has been recovering since legal protection was granted.
Polecats face ongoing welfare threats from illegal persecution on game estates, road mortality during dispersal, and secondary rodenticide poisoning. Hybridisation with domestic ferrets released to the wild may affect genetic diversity. Road casualties are a significant source of mortality particularly for young dispersing animals. Snares set for foxes and rabbits catch polecats as bycatch.