Hi Folks.  Well, the Lost Ferrets Trasure Hunt should be getting underway
as promised very soon.  I had hoped it would be yesterday, but
unfortunately, I am still waiting on one shelter to get the clue up on
their site.  As soon as that happens, the fun will begin.
 
We have a found ferret in Jacksonville, FL and one in Coconut Creek, FL.
Those are the only new listings on Lost Ferrets.
 
I have a scenerio.  Suppose that all of us, we ferret-enthusiasts, we who
dedicate our lives to these small, lovely creatures, were to stop buying
Marshall Farms ferrets all together.  If every person who REALLY cared
about the well-being of ferrets were to stop buying MF ferrets, would it
put them out of business?  Maybe.  Right away?  No.
 
What would happen to the ferrets produced in the interim, assuming they
were eventually put out of business?  They would obviously NOT be purchased
by experienced, loving ferret persons, since none of us were buying them...
So here is what would happen.  Some would be unlucky enough to be sent to a
pet store where no new interest had been sparked.  They would not be sold,
who knows what that particular pet store would do to them to get rid of
them, shelter?, destruction?  Then, there would be those who WERE sold,
either to uncaring or inexperienced owners.  Of those who are sold, some
would wind up with people who were truely good parents.  (We all were
inexperienced at one time, and some of us have really grown.  But if you
talk to any shelter operator on this list, you will learn that MANY
inexperienced owners do NOT make it long enough with their ferrets to
BECOME experienced owners...) Those who didn't end up with those precious
few good parents, would be neglected, unloved, possibly abused, and most
certainly given up, whether to a shelter, or by being dumped, killed, etc.
On the bright side, those unfortunate ferrets who made it to a shelter
would then maybe get their chance to be adopted by parents who knew how
and WHY to take care of a ferret.  But what a life they would have to go
through to get there.
 
I believe that adopting ferrets from shelters is important.  I believe that
buying kits isn't a crime.  I love my ferrets, no matter where they came
from.  And you have to think, is putting an animal through that kind of
trauma worth the few bucks you keep out of MF's wallet by waiting until
they've been abandoned and taken to a shelter to buy them??  I hardly think
it appropriate to hold an INNOCENT ANIMAL responsible for the crimes of
its "parent." When you look into the eyse of a kit at a pet store, do you
think to yourself, "Marshall Farms," or do you think to yourself, "Loving,
darling, innocent, deserving, fantastic, amazing, beautiful creature."  If
you think the former, you are less deserving of the love of your ferrets
than you would like to think yourself.  IMHO.
 
Melissa Barnes
www.geocities.com/lostferrets
[Posted in FML issue 3180]