Hello!
 
I was reading with interest the posting about the schoolteacher that
wouldn't let the ferret in because it is considered a wild animal.  With
a few facts handy you could have argued quite well against that.
 
Ferrets have been domesticated for as long as 5000 years and is genetically
different from its wild relative the European polecat.  The same way a
chihuahua is genetically different from a wolf and a persian cat from a
tiger.  The ferret shares its name with the black footed ferret and this
can pobably lead to the misunderstanding.  As you all have been writing
about lost ferrets, they certainly do not survive in the wild, and a feral
cat would do infinitely better.
 
Hedgehogs however, are wild creatures and survive perfectly well if let
loose.  I apreciate that some keep rescued hedgehogs and I respect that,
but wherever there is a possibility the animal can go back to the wild,
that is the option to go for.  A few weeks ago, I read about a pet shop
keeping a sugar-glider.  Why is a wild animal in a pet-shop?  They belong
in the wild or possibly in a zoo.
 
I think we should stick to the few domesticated animals we have, no matter
how cute the wild ones are.
 
All the best,
 
;b
[Posted in FML issue 3051]