I assume that the folk that believe a natural diet (raw food not
processed and not cooked) is the healthiest and best thing for their
pets also eat natural diets themselves? Only raw meat and vegetables,
yes? After all, humans originally hunted other animals and probably ate
raw roots and grains other than the rare occasions when they were able
to boil or cook foods to render them edible. In bad weather (no dry
areas for a campfire) they would have to eat raw meat. Why should pet
animals only benefit from a natural diet? I assume that those ferret
owners who feed natural unprocessed meats to their pets also do NOT
eat sugar or salt (other than going to a salt marsh and licking up the
unprocessed product) and if they do eat meat, the pigs, cows, rats,
mice, rabbits etc they hunt and trap should be consumed raw as the best
food for our species -- logically speaking. I think those that feed raw
and natural diets to their pets should offer publicly to publish what
they eat, (raw healthy food, dead animals and fish allowed but not
cooked), and allow us to do a study on their increased life span and
health. Those of us who eat icecream, chocolate, lasagna, hamburgers
and drink coffee will be the controls. I volunteer for the second
group right now.
I come from South Wales (UK) where the countryside all year is mostly
wet and cool, so cooking over a fire most times of the year prior to
the 10th century (when things got more civilized) would be impossible.
I have no info on the life spans of the Celts, but from what people on
the lists say, extrapolating from ferret health to humans, those
primitive tribes-people should have lived healthily until their 80's at
least (that is of course excluding injuries from catching the prey and
perhaps diseases from said prey). The Celts would have had to hang the
meat until it putrefied and tenderized, or dried it (jerky?) since
otherwise it's pretty tough. People in the UK do still hang game (ie
let it rot), but they cheat and cook it before eating it. Fungi are
edible raw and vegetables certainly are delicious and much more healthy
for us than cooked. (I am a vegetarian so can attest to the delicious
taste of raw veggies, although I know following the rules of the
natural foods folks I should also be eating raw
steak/pork/chicken/eggs/peanuts along with it. I assume from a health
standpoint, pies, ice cream, cheese, pate, wine and beer would be
completely verboten to those who feed their ferrets live prey. Raw eggs
would be OK --natural produce - but no boiling, since the Stone age
folks had very few cooking utensils. So, if natural foods have such
health benefits I assume the folks feeding their ferrets natural diets
should follow their own rules and eat nothing but a healthy raw natural
diet. After all, we are animals too. What's the difference? Put your
money where your mouth is - yes ?.
Finally, European polecats eat not only rodents (note-wild, not reared
on lab chow), but also amphibians, insects, birds (aha that's why they
like Gerber's chicken baby food) and rabbits. In some parts of Europe
amphibians are preferred (top prey in 3 regions, and 2nd choice in 8
other regions) and often insects are their preference (see Trophic
status and feeding habits of the European Polecat Mustela putorius L.
1758 T. LOD, Laboratoire d'Ecologie animale, Universit d'Angers, 2Bd
Lavoisier, 49045 Angers, France ) Mammal Review Vol 27, Issue 4 pages
177-184 2008.
If ferrets need "natural" prey, why don't cats and dogs need natural
prey? Variation in dog/cat longevity/health seems to be because of
selection for breed/size/ shape and has not much to do with diet. Often
as in humans they have the bad genetic luck to get cancer or illness.
Why should ferrets be any different ?
Meryl
[Posted in FML 6243]
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