The polecat was nearly exterminated from Britain by the early 20th century but has recovered strongly from Wales, with ongoing welfare challenges from road mortality and misidentification.
Polecats killed on roads die immediately or suffer traumatic injuries. Their nocturnal, hedgerow-using behaviour brings them into frequent contact with rural roads. As a recovering species recolonising former range, populations encounter new road networks in areas without historical polecat traffic. Deliberate killing by gamekeepers — now illegal — still occasionally occurs through misidentification or deliberate misrepresentation of the species' legal status.