In the time I have kept ferrets I have seen and heard about many things
done by ferret owners which they would now like to try and forget.  I
have known people to 'euthanasia' or to offer to 'euthanasia' 'murder'
ferrets with an '0.22 bullet in the head' for any ferret they 'not I'
consider to be a 'biter' 2 bites and the ferret get the bullet in the
head or a broken neck which is just the same because they still end up
dead.
 
What a barbaric practice from so called ferret lovers, why not shoot the
breeder whom doesn't handle their kits enough or the people who maltreat
their ferrets so they become frightened and nervous, or the ferreters who
do not wait around long enough when their ferrets which do not come up
from the rabbit holes quick enough at the end of the day.  I know of
owners who's ferret have produced early litter and because they are still
working their ferrets the litter has been destroyed, or in some cases the
jill has gone in to labour while out working ending up with a litter of
feral ferrets.
 
Since the 70's I have been taken in ferrets with such bad reputation and
brought them around to being fine loving pets, along with the ferrets
that have been left by ferreters, dumped ferrets because the ferreting
season is over, also the ferrets dumped because the owner thinks they
stand a better chance in the wild if they bite because the owner has not
got the heart to kill them or is so stupid not to hand them over to a
rescue, then we have the ferret kits who have been too young to work and
just abandoned by the owner, along with some genuinely lost ferrets who
owner were afraid to advertise for their ferrets in case they had been
found in poultry pens or such likes killing domestic pets in a case to
survive.
 
We still have the unscrupulous breeders who when selling ferrets to first
time owners, telling the new owner that by taking a hob and a jill from
the same litter, the jill will not come into season because she has a hob
with her and the hob will not mate her, because brother and sisters do
not do such things.
 
The result is a that I get calls from first time owners who have found
babies and they are desperate to find out what to do and want to know if
I can take the kits when they are old enough, or can I put them intouch
with some one close to them so they can find out more information about
the litter they have just been presented with.
 
These days the vast majority of ferret owners here in the UK do care
about the animals they have in their possession, but while the ferret is
still seen by some owners as just a tool to work with we shall always
have the unscrupulous breeder or owner who care more about the money in
their pocket than the welfare of the tools he works with
 
If anyone is doing fund raising for Headway - the brain injury
association or any fund raising to do with disabilities in the Shropshire
area and you would like an interesting addition to bring the public in I
could come along with some of my pets for the public to get to know.  My
phone number is [No number was here.  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 4418]