Dandie Dinmont Terriers in the UK

Introduction

I remember well those words "sweetmart" and "foulmart" from 20 years ago when studying the history of our Breed under the guidance of Audrey Heaton (Kennel Moorbarrow), probably the last person to 'work' a pack of Dandies, outliving Alf Rhodes (Kennel Nephi) who died in 2003. And for those twenty years it has been on my 'to do' list - to find out what sweetmarts and foulmarts were...

Could it be as simple as a mart (known as a marten and sometimes a martin) that either smells sweetly or smells horribly? Well yes it could!

Foulmart

European Polecat (Mustela putorius)

The foulmart (sometimes known as a fumart or a fitch and several other dialect names) is a 'chiefly nocturnal carnivorous mammal of the weasel family that ejects a malodorous fluid to mark its territory and ward off enemies'. Although there are several debates that the modern name originally was French - from poule as in chicken, fouine as in marten... Nowadays we know this creature by the name European Polecat (Mustela putorius).

Polecats are found in woodlands, farmlands and wetlands. They often make dens in stream banks or under tree roots. Almost entirely carnivorous, they feed largely on small mammals such as voles and rats and, seasonally, frogs and toads. Small birds and insects are a much smaller component of their diet.They require a home range of about a square kilometer.

Polecats are dark brown with a lighter bandit-like mask across the face, pale yellow underbody fur, a long tail and short legs. They are somewhat larger than weasels, weighing between 0.7 kg for females to 1.7 kg for males, but smaller than otters.

Sweetmart

Pine Marten (Martes martes)

The Sweetmart could have referred to two different Martens - the Pine Marten (Martes martes) and the Beech Marten (Martes foina). The pine marten is about the size of a domestic cat. Their fur is usually light to dark brown and grows longer and silkier during the winter months. They have a cream to yellow colored "bib" marking on their throats. These martens are unique in the weasel family because they have semi-retractable claws which make climbing and living in trees easier.

Pine martens are found in the Scottish Highlands and Grampian, with isolated populations in southern Scotland. In England and North Wales pine martens are probably on the verge of extinction although there may still be isolated individuals present in Northumberland and North Yorkshire.

Although they occur in a wide range of habitats, pine martens prefer well-wooded areas with plenty of cover. Marten dens are commonly found in hollow trees or the fallen root masses of Scots pines, an association that probably earned pine martens their name; cairns and cliffs covered with scrub are frequently used as alternative den sites.

Beech Marten (Martes foina)

Quote from the Northern Echo 2002: In Sir Alfred Pease's Dictionary of the North Riding Dialect, he expresses his belief "that the beech marten, under its alternative name of sweetmart, was extinct in the North Riding by the turn of the last century, the final survivor to his knowledge, being killed in Mulgrave Woods near Whitby about 1880." He then adds that polecats were exceedingly rare with some being located at Rosedale Head around 1912 but his comments show that he does not regard the sweetmart and the foulmart as the same animal.

It is possible that the pine marten is the same creature as the beech marten, in spite of their names suggesting differing habitats in two types of woodland, but if Sir Alfred is right, then it does seem there used to be beech martens (or sweetmarts) in the North Riding. And the alternative name does suggest they did not smell quite so badly as the foulmart!

Certainly, the pine marten does not smell as awful as the polecat and it does appear that the pine marten was, for some reason, known as the beech marten in this part of England. (end  of quote)

Conservation

In times past they were hunted to near extinction. They look absolutely beautiful but they are in fact quite vicious and many a Dandie in the past would have had to be very brave to tackle them. Their fur was much sought after for fashion (mink - Mustela lutreola - are in the same family) and many a gamekeeper would have supplemented their meagre income by selling the pelts.  They also were considered a pest and a threat to 'sporting pursuits' due to their carniverous diet and would not have been welcome on a shooting estate. Domestic hens were fair game to the weasel family.

Today both, but more particularly the Pine Marten who is mentioned on the 'Red List,' are the subject of conservation and reintroduction in the UK.

There are some wonderful resources that you might like to look at on the ARKive - many of the videos are from the BBC Natural History Unit:

European Polecats - 9 images and 4 videos

Pine Marten - 9 images and 10 videos

There are also videos and images of their relations the Otter, Stoat and Weasel linked from here  

References

All links open in a new window.

We thank Wikipedia for images and information particularly the Polecat image by Malene Thyssen in Denmark

The Mammal Society: Pine Marten Fact Sheet

Locations of Pine Martens in the UK

Pine Marten Rescue PDF

Poachers & Poaching - Knowledge Never Learned in Schools -  Google Book Search

The Northern Echo