[Pam?  Could you send me the whole thing directly to
[log in to unmask]  I'll make my comments to that.  Thanks.]
 
FERRET FAQ FOR NEW AND PROSPECTIVE OWNERS
Compiled and edited by Pamela Greene ([log in to unmask])
(version 1.0, 12/15/93)
 
This FAQ is being distributed to the FML in about 20 pieces in order to
encourage your comments and suggestions.  I'd also be happy to send you the
whole file; it's roughly 70kB, but I can split it into smaller segments if
your mailer has problems with large messages.
 
*** PART 2 of LOTS ***
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0. *** About this FAQ ***
 
0.1> Goal of this FAQ
 
A number of people have begun work on comprehensive discussions of all
sorts of ferret behavior, medical problems, and advice.  This FAQ is
not intended to replace any of those.  However, there seems to be a
need for an "intro" FAQ which covers many of the basic questions in a
fairly light way.  That is, this is intended to be a FAQ in the purest
sense of the term: a document to answer questions which keep coming up
in the newsgroups and Ferret Mailing List, rather than a comprehensive
guide to ferret ownership. If you're relatively new to ferrets, the
idea is that you'll read this guide (or one like it) first, then go on
to the more detailed guides.
 
0.2> Credits and editor's notes
 
Contributions of individual respondents are noted by [begin XX] and
continue until the next [begin XX].  Contributions may have been
edited a little, for spelling or space.  Anything I've inserted will
be in square brackets [], and deletions will be indicated by ellipses
in square brackets [...].
 
Credits: PG = Pamela Greene ([log in to unmask])  <-- me
         MW = Marilee Warner ([log in to unmask])
         AK = Arlyn Kerr ([log in to unmask])
         RN = Rochelle Newman ([log in to unmask])
         TC = Todd Cromwell ([log in to unmask])
         NH = Nancy Hartman ([log in to unmask])
         SC = Sukie Crandall ([log in to unmask])
         JG = [has not yet approved inclusion; may live in a FFZ?]
 
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1. *** Introduction to ferrets ***
 
1.1> Are ferrets wild animals?  Why are there ferret permits and FFZs?
 
[begin PG]
Domestic pet ferrets, Mustela putorius furo, are not wild animals.
They were first domesticated by the Egyptians around 3000 B.C.
Ferrets have not been shown to establish in the wild if released; if
yours got free it would likely die of dehydration or starvation within
a few days.  Unlike cats and dogs, ferrets aren't even large enough to
push over garbage cans and scavenge.
 
In the past, and some still today, domestic ferrets were used as
hunting animals to catch rabbits and rodents.  The ferrets didn't kill
the prey, they just chased them out of their holes and the farmers
(hunters) killed them.  This practice is now illegal in most, if not
all, of the U.S.
 
Most of the misconceptions regarding domestic ferrets probably come
from confusing them with their cousins the North American Black-Footed
Ferrets, Mustela nigripes.  Black-footed ferrets (BFFs) are wild
relatives of the domestic ferret.  They live mainly in Wyoming and
neighboring states, and they are an endangered species due to
outbreaks of canine distemper and recent drastic reductions in the
population of their main prey, prairie dogs.  However, despite very
similar appearances, the BFF is not even likely to be an ancestor of
the domestic ferret, since the latter were first domesticated in Egypt
and only brought to North America comparatively recently.
 
Some people have also compared, or confused, domestic ferrets with
weasels, which is rather like comparing a pet dog to a wolf; or with
mongooses, which is more like comparing a cat and a squirrel.  Neither
gives much useful information.
 
States, counties, and municipalities outlaw or restrict ferrets for a
variety of reasons, but by far the most common is the mistaken belief
that they're wild animals and should be treated in the same way as
squirrels or raccoons.  In the face of overwhelming evidence, many of
these areas are being persuaded to change their outdated regulations.
 
[Posted in FML issue 0698]