Dear Ferret Folks-

Yesterday I had the opportunity to travel to the city of Cancun,
Mexico, about thirty miles north of me here in Playa Del Carmen.
Cancun has some nice beaches, but is very heavily built up. It also
possesses more malls than any other place I have ever been to. They
are beautifully air conditioned, so they are very attractive on a hot
day. Me, I am a failure as a Mall Rat, was even before my untimely
demise. But that's where my posse wanted to go, so off we went.

I looked around, and did find the pet store that sold the unfortunate
Koko, the little ferret whose sweet face was on a "Lost" poster taped
to a plam in Playa Del Carmen. The poster is no longer there. I assume
Koko is toast. This is a punishing place to be lost. Street cats,
hungry dogs, high temperatures, no free water. And a populace who
has never seen a ferret before, and would think it was some sort of
deformed rat. I Hope you are running free in the afterworld, Koko.

The store was very clean, and well attended. They had more *amazing*
birds than I can possibly describe, certainly kinds we don' t as a
rule see in the U.S. Wild bird poaching right out of the jungle is a
real problem here. Some species are really taking it on the chin due
to their popularity as pets. There are many little stores in Playa,
little homey hardware stores that have bird cages for sale hanging
from the rafters. Homeowners hang the cages (with bird) in their
gated courtyards. You hear them all over the city. You can buy
completel illegal birds right out on the street, at the live bird
store on 30th street.

The store is the the only place I know of where ferrets are sold. They
are very rare down here, and not available at local Mom and Pop pet
stores. When I ask about ferrets (huron, in Spanish) I am invariably
referred to that particular store. They had six kits in a too small
glass container in wood shavings. They did not have toys. The container
was very clean, however...no loose poop, clean shavings. The kits were
all at a point where they could chew kibble I think, but mush was
provided, as was clean water.The kits looked to be in good condition,
I saw no evidence of prolapsed rectums. I have seen ferrets in the
states in *much* worse condition. The kits had clean coats fluffed
up against the AC, and were having a happy nap in a pile.

I have NO IDEA if they are legal here, but legal can mean many things
in Mexico. When asked, almost no Mexicans even know what ferrets are.
I have to explain that they are like minks. They are often a little
hazy on mink, too. This is a tropical place where I hang out. Not many
fur coats!

Regardless of legality, a kit here costs $1,850 pesos which is around
a hundred and fifty dollars. This, in a country where the minum daily
wage is a little over five US bucks and change. Not hourly, *daily.*
Now you know why there are some eight to ten million illegal Mexicans
in the US. A job washing dishes under the table can make you hourly
what you made in a *day* in Mexico.

Ferrets, however, remain above these worldly considerations.

Alexandra in MA 
Still dead, but feeling a little better, thanks. 

[Posted in FML 6246]