Weasels are the world's smallest carnivores and an important part of UK food webs. Their welfare is threatened by declining prey populations and indiscriminate trapping.
Weasel welfare is closely linked to vole population cycles, which they cannot control. In low vole years, weasels cannot raise young successfully and adult survival is compromised. Indiscriminate use of tunnel traps set for stoats frequently catches weasels, raising welfare concerns given their lack of legal protection. The loss of rough grassland and hedgerow habitats that support vole populations is the fundamental driver of weasel welfare decline. Maintaining vole-rich habitat is the most important welfare intervention for this overlooked predator.