Responding to some of The Ferret Store and "bad product" issues.
 
Yes, The Ferret Store (TFS) has been a very generous donor and a good
friend to the ferret community in the past.  Some have noticed a less
generous spirit in the last couple years; I hope that trend will reverse.
I have been their customer for many years, but more recently have started
shopping at the Ferret Depot (FD), whose prices seem to be less for most
items, even with free shipping at TFS.  FD also offers shelter discounts.
 
Most of the emails and posts I've seen have not "slammed" TFS, but
people have simply expressed their disappointment with Scott Sanfilippo's
decision, and their plan to vote with their pocketbook.  That is the
consumer's right and most powerful way of expressing their opinion.
 
Some suggest that education is a better tack to take than removing
products:
 
>The fact that they are trying to educate owners through special
>markings on the sugary treats will do much more than removing them.
 
They are NOT marking sugary treats; Scott wrote "all natural and healthy
treats will be marked by an icon [red heart] along with treats that do
not contain sugar".  There is a big difference between marking the
particularly good ones and marking the bad ones.  They also plan to
list ingredients, etc for all products (they currently have it for
some).  But you don't see the heart until you get to the actual page
for the particular item, and then you must click on the small text
"Ingredients & Guaranteed Analysis" to see details.
 
Compare this with what FD has done.  On the main Food and Treat pages,
they have noted WHY certain items were removed.  EVERYONE who goes to
buy food or treats will see this and be educated, even if they weren't
planning to buy the offending product.  And those who were will be less
likely to search for the product elsewhere, now knowing it is unhealthy.
 
Some also suggest that the more appropriate targets for emails and/or
boycotting are the manufacturers themselves.  I agree that is important,
and we are working on that.  Danee DeVore discusses this issue in another
post.  8 in 1, Kaytee, Browns, Vitakraft and L'Avian all make products
either very high in sugar or containing pieces of dried fruit or
vegetable.  I urge others to POLITELY contact these companies with their
concerns.
 
But quite simply, the major retailers have far more power over the
manufacturers than we do because they account for most of their business.
If businesses like Petco, Petsmart, FD and TFS all say they won't sell
this stuff, the manufacturers will take notice, QUICKLY!  We also have
plans to contact some of the smaller chains (like Petland and Pet
Supplies Plus), but as Sukie pointed out, we only have so much time in a
day, and more volunteers are always welcome!
 
For those who want to continue to support The Ferret Store, that is
your decision to make and no one should question it.  The decision to
boycott should also not be questioned.
 
I urge everyone to remain polite in their communications!  We don't
want to burn bridges, just make our legitimate concerns known!
 
Linda Iroff
International Ferret Congress
http://www.ferretcongress.org
[Posted in FML issue 4888]