>The only issue where Path Valley and Marshall seem to differ is testing
>Marshall donates animals for testing to help all the ferrets they sell.
>Marshall sells ferrets to labs to use.
 
Correct.  One common use is in the development and testing of influenza
vaccines; there is even a person who is/was an FML member with
ex-influenza-test-ferrets as pets.
 
>Path Valley has not done much to help with fighting diseases in ferrets
>that we know of.
 
I actually discussed this topic with someone I know there recently and was
told that they don't figure that they can afford to do so, but they like
the idea of helping a few shelters when possible.  Marshall Farms does have
a very strong history of improving veterinary care for ferrets: helping
develop vaccines, donating to research to improve medical options, etc.
 
>Both are large scale ranches with all the negatives that come with that.
 
Yes, they just have different negatives in some cases.
 
>Both have the same level of inbreeding; though on numbers Marshall has
>enough that they can make inbreeding less common than Path Valley can
 
Now that is probably true.  Under the original owners at Path Valley there
was much more inbreeding there because they were trying for some specialty
looks.  We had "rejects" from that program and, boy, were they ever filled
with birth defects and handicaps.  Later Path Valley's food maker (which
was Amway at that time if i recall right) got some electrolyte ratios mixed
up and Path Valley had most (if memory serves about 2/3) of their ferrets
die and lot born with extreme skeletal and dental defects.  At that point
they bought a large number of breeding ferrets from Marshall Farms; if they
had not done so they would have gone under.  Much of the genetic material
in Path Valley Farms ferrets is therefore exactly the same as in Marshall
Farms ferrets.  If their original ones were also from there then it's all
the same and just differs in how it's mixed and selected.
 
>P.S.- MF sells ferrets for fur.  Enough Said.
 
NO!  They don't.  Marshall Farms is NOT a fur farm, neither is Path
Valley.  Of the OTHER large farms at least one was in recent decades,
but i will not say which one because having them move to selling more
(all?) as pets means that the ferrets were saved from winding up at a
furrier's instead.
 
Are there improvements that MF should make?  Of course!  that's true of all
the farms and more so true of back yard breeders.  I'd like to see stronger
federal regs across the board that way.
 
BTW, over a span of 19 years the MFs here really have not differed from
ones from a wide range of other sources who came here in terms of their
health or longevity.
 
The best conditions and healthiest ferrets are usually found at small and
responsible breeders (not all small ones are responsible since some are
backyard breeders -- the worst, and some others are not quite as careful
as they could be) who carefully trace the health and longevity of their
ferrets and respond accordingly.  sadly, not enough do such tracing, yet.
Appearances need to come last in breeding selections, and health and
longevity first!
[Posted in FML issue 3508]