Mélogale de Chine

In North-east India the genus is hunted for food (A.U. Choudhury pers. comm. 2007) and this is true across most or all of its range. In southern China this species has historically been one of the most important furbearers and is subjected to heavy harvest pressure (Shou 1962, Sheng 1993, Storz and Wozencraft 1999) and declines have occurred because of this (Lau et al. 2010). However, even in southern China the genus, apparently mostly this species, remains common and widespread (Lau et al. 2010). In the northern part of its range, in central China, because this species is perceived neither to prey on livestock, nor cause to damage to property or farm facilities, it is not persecuted, despite its close proximity to people (Wang and Fuller 2003). In addition, the value of an individual pelt is not high, although the meat is eaten in some areas (Wang and Fuller 2003). Also in the Chinese part of its range there seems to be little threat from habitat change, given the species's occurrence in highly anthropogenic environments. Understanding threats further south in its range, where it is or might be sympatric with Large-toothed Ferret Badger, is forestalled by the difficulties of identification to species. Ferret badgers of one or more species are among the most widely camera-trapped small carnivores in Viet Nam, including in very heavily hunted areas where most species are now rare (Willcox et al. 2014); perhaps the species is as resilient in South-east Asia as it is further north.

This species is likely to occur in many protected areas across its range, specifically the northern part; the paucity of records from protected areas in the southern part, where it overlaps with Melogale personata (e.g., Nakai-Nam Theun NBCA, Lao PDR, Robichaud 2010; Chu Yang Sin National Park, Viet Nam, Abramov and Rozhnov 2014), perhaps signifies little other than the difficulties of confirming identification to species. In India, it is protected in Schuedule 2, Part 1. This species is listed as Near Threatened on the China Red List (Wang and Xie 2004).