Stoat Mustela erminea

Taxonomy: Class: Mammalia; Order: Carnivora; Family: Mustelidae

Description

Stoat © Laurie Campbell

The stoat is a small slender carnivorous mammal native to Britain. It is larger than the weasel, with a black-tipped tail. In winter some animals may turn completely white apart from the tail tip. The stoat's main prey is the rabbit, and numbers of stoats declined drastically when myxomatosis devastated the British rabbit population in the 1950s and 1960s. The stoat also commonly eats gamebirds, waders, eggs and chicks. It may be culled throughout the year.

Further information:
Mammal Society website stoat page.

Conservation status and legislation

Status:
UK: Native
World: Least Concern (IUCN Red List)

© Crown Copyright. All rights reserved NERC 100017897 2004
Source: National Biodiversity Network and its data providers, who bear
no responsibility for interpretation of the 10x10-km grid map

Recent trends from the National Gamebag Census

United Kingdom

Index of bag density from 1961 to 2009 (see statistical methods and interpretational considerations).
Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.

The bag index has doubled between 1961 and 2009, but with a notable broad-based dip during the 1980s followed by recovery during the 1990s. Broadly, the increase follows that of its main prey, the rabbit, although it is not obvious why the dip occurred.

Change in stoat bags over time, with 95% confidence limits (see statistical methods):

Country	Sites	Start year	End year	Change (%) 1961-2009	Change (%) 1984-2009	Change (%) 1995-2009
United Kingdom	1072	1961	2009	117* 75 to 173	50* 23 to 80	28* 12 to 42

* significant at P < 0.05

England

Index of bag density from 1961 to 2009 (see statistical methods and interpretational considerations).
Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.

The bag index has more than doubled between 1961 and 2009, but with a notable broad-based dip during the 1980s followed by recovery during the 1990s. Broadly, the increase follows that of its main prey, the rabbit, although it is not obvious why the dip occurred.

Change in stoat bags over time, with 95% confidence limits (see statistical methods):

Country	Sites	Start year	End year	Change (%) 1961-2009	Change (%) 1984-2009	Change (%) 1995-2009
England	781	1961	2009	150* 88 to 228	53* 25 to 97	42* 22 to 69

* significant at P < 0.05

Scotland

Index of bag density from 1961 to 2009 (see statistical methods and interpretational considerations).
Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.

A broad-based dip during the 1980s was followed by a recovery during the 1990s, leading to a significant increase between 1984 and 2009. Overall, however, there was no detectable change between 1961 and 2009.

Change in stoat bags over time, with 95% confidence limits (see statistical methods):

Country	Sites	Start year	End year	Change (%) 1961-2009	Change (%) 1984-2009	Change (%) 1995-2009
Scotland	250	1961	2009	49 -8 to 156	51* 11 to 96	11 -6 to 34

* significant at P < 0.05

Wales

Index of bag density from 1961 to 2009 (see statistical methods and interpretational considerations).
Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.

Despite large standard errors on the estimated values, there has been a significant decline between 1995 and 2009. As numbers of its main prey, the rabbit, have increased during the period, the trend may reflect a gradual abandonment of traditional gamekeeping in Wales.

Change in stoat bags over time, with 95% confidence limits (see statistical methods):

Country	Sites	Start year	End year	Change (%) 1961-2009	Change (%) 1984-2009	Change (%) 1995-2009
Wales	29	1961	2009	-48 -70 to 88	-23 -80 to 20	-35* -71 to -2

* significant at P < 0.05

N Ireland

There are too few bag records of stoat to produce an index graph.

 

There are too few bag records of stoat to evaluate rates of change over time

Country	Sites	Start year	End year	Change (%) 1961-2009	Change (%) 1984-2009	Change (%) 1995-2009
N Ireland	Too few sites

Environmental zones

Change in stoat bags over time, with 95% confidence limits (see statistical methods):

* significant at P < 0.05

Comparison with BBS mammal data

No comparison with the NGC trend is possible because too few stoat records are received through the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) organised by the British Trust for Ornithology.

Long-term trend from the National Gamebag Census

There are too few bag records of stoat to produce a trend starting before 1961.

References and further reading

• Battersby,J. (2005). UK Mammals: Species Status and Population Trends. Joint Nature Conservation Committee/Tracking Mammals Partnership, Peterborough (JNCC download page).
• Harris,S., Morris,P., Wray,S. & Yalden,D.W. (1995). A Review of British Mammals: Population Estimates and Conservation Status of British Mammals Other than Cetaceans. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough (JNCC download page).
• Harris,S. & Yalden,D.W. (2008). Mammals of the British Isles: Handbook, 4th edition. Mammal Society, Southampton.
• McDonald,R. & Harris,S. (2006). Stoats and Weasels. Mammal Society, Southampton.

This report should be cited as: Aebischer,N.J., Davey,P.D. & Kingdon,N.G. (2011). National Gamebag Census: Mammal Trends to 2009. Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Fordingbridge (http://www.gwct.org.uk/ngcmammals).

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