I bought my first ferret a couple of months ago and have since bought two
more.  I have always enjoyed reading this list and have learned a lot that
I needed to know about my ferrets.  I don't usually have mush to say, but
just thinking about what Marshall Farms gets away with boils my blood.
 
When I got my first ferret, he was malnourished with a prolapsed rectum,
needless to say he came from MF.  I later found out that the pet store that
I got him from bought ferrets from a lady who lived 100 miles away.  She in
turn got her husband to buy the ferrets from a distributor in San Antonio,
another 100 mile drive.  And I suppose, hopefully, that the ferrets came
to them directly from MF.  The food the ferrets had been eating was not
moistened, the water bottle was far out of reach, and the litter box walls
too high.  The lady in the store gave me really bad ferret info, I did not
realize it until later, which is my fault.  I also do not believe that
these batch numbers and such can really be trusted due to the sheer volume
and carelessness with ferrets that MF seems to show.  I have visited many
other pet shops from Corpus Christi, TX to Minneapolis, MN since I bought
my ferret, and have noticed one thing in common with all pet stores selling
MF ferrets, complete ineptitude at caring for baby ferrets, or any ferret
for that matter.  Petco still prominently displays that ferret can live
8-12 years, keeps them in recycled newsprint and aquariums, with no
moistened food.  I visited one pet shop that had a ferret kept in a dark
puppy aquarium in pine shaving, and this is the kicker, where the light
should have been hooked up, there were exposed wires.  This poor baby had
no food and a way too high up water bottle.  The living conditions of most
shipped out MF ferrets is deplorable, and then who knows what happens to
them when they are bought?  With all the misinformation about ferrets out
there, anyone is lured to believe they can adequately care for a ferret.
I would love to buy them all, but who can seriously afford the expense
and the encouragement for MF to produce more tortured babies?  Everything
looked happy and nice until I started to question why my little boy was
so malnourished and sickly, and believe me, after all the research and
actual searching I've done (i.e. actually investigating other pet shops)
Everything is far from fuzzy and nice.  Take a look at the sharp contrast
between these two sites and ask yourself, should I really buy another MF
ferret or should I encourage responsible breeding and humane treatment of
ferrets.
 
Marshall's site:
http:/www.marshallpet.com
 
Contradictory site
http://www.peta-online.org/feat/marsh/index2.html
 
Although I do believe that PETA is quite radical at times, pictures and
all the facts that support the evidence only give weight to this link.
 
Sorry my first post is a rant, but this subject touches a raw nerve in me.
 
Sincerely Grace and her fuzzy trio Furball, Kit, and Delphina, plus one
skin-kid, Cynthia
[Posted in FML issue 3439]