I of course signed my comments and support to this bill.  This is not a
slam, but a few questions and comments.  I do have a question which was
brought up by Ferretwise yesterday.  How do they enforce this bill?  Does
the IFC have a plan to help educate the USDA officers?  After working at
Petco for almost 2 years, I have seen how small the kits came into the
store.  I also have seen how little knowledge the ferret distributors
(middle men) and the ferret farms have.  Some of it might be control
issues from the top (decision makers).  I also frequent alot of other
petstores which carry ferrets.  And toured a major distribution center.
Of course both Ferret Farms claim they were 8 weeks of age, however,
after raising 2 litters of ferrets myself, they were lucky they were 5
weeks of age.  Of course the petstores and distribution centers are not
to blame because they are told one birthday when the ferrets are really
alot younger.  Some came into the store with stitches in from the
surgeries.  Our store and other stores have reported the problem, the
corporations have contact them, only to get the same song and dance that
they are 8 weeks of age.  How does one (meaning a store with limited
ferret knowledge) go about proving that they kit was younger then what
the original breeding farm states?
 
Another issue is that these farms seem to put ferrets together, not
knowing when they conceive, have people working there who do not have
much animal/ferret experience, the animals are shipped to "distribution
centers" which don't know much about ages/sex, then shipped to stores,
who have workers who don't know alot about what ferrets eat, yet alone
how old they are.  Once this bill is passed, it will still be a major
uphill battle enforcing this.  What the ferret community must do is to
get to the stores and educate.  But there lies another issue.  In our
local chain stores (Petco and Petsmart) one must be 501c(3) to educate.
In our area, there are NO Ferret shelters which are 501c3, which a huge
void in this area.  I am sure this is across the USA.  So will the IFC or
some organization look into appointing people to do education in these
areas where it is greatly needed?  I know our Petco can pump out upwards
to 9 ferrets a week in the Holiday season.  That is alot of ferrets for
one area, and not alot of education!
 
Another HUGE issue is that they are coming in with major intestinal
issues, probably brought on by the stress of shipping.  These issues
alot of times are not taken care of by the stores, and we of course get
calls/emails almost every day about a sick ferret and how to deal with
them.  Most of the time it is Coccidia, which can kill a ferret if not
treated.  It is also highly contagious and will spread through a business
of ferrets in no time.
 
I guess the point of this email is to know that we, as ferret owners,
really need to get out and educate at these stores.  We need to get the
major chains to have their managers educated, then get them to educate
the employees.  This is a HUGE endeavor, and will require alot of people
do accomplish.  A handful of IFC members can't do it alone.
 
M from TinyPrints Ferret Rescue
37 Loving Ferrets up for adoption or sponsorship
4 more guys arriving shortly!
 
Life is not how many breaths you take, but
how many times it takes your breath away...
TinyPrints Ferret Rescue PetFinder Web Page
http://www.tinyprintsontheheart.petfinder.org
TinyPrints Ferret Rescue Store
http://www.tinyprintsontheheart.com/onlinestore.htm
Aloha Ferrets Ebay Store
http://stores.ebay.com/Aloha-Ferrets-Store
[Posted in FML issue 5021]