It's inevitable for a post to appear saying how barbaric and inhumane
it is to feed live prey. And it's not surprising to see the same post
filled with more misconceptions about the domestication of ferrets.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But to say offering ferrets
a natural form of enrichment is "ridiculous" is unfair.
 
I think it's safe to say that anyone with the intelligence to operate
a computer has at least had schooling enough to understand the circle
of life which contains the food chain. There are some rodents that
are destined to be pets and cherished members of the family and some
rodents that are destined to be dinner guests. I have housed both kinds
of rodents. Does this so called barbarism extend also to the feeding of
live insects or invertebrates or fish?

I imagine the fish on the end of the hook of my fishing pole
experiences just as much terror as the mouse in the maw of my ferrets.
The warm I used to bait the hook was probably terrified when I
punctured it and sent it into the watery depths. Some horticulturists
maintain plants have feelings; I wonder what the grass feels that my
horse rips from the ground, before being ground to a pulp?

My ferrets dinner guests are treated to a very good life of fresh
food, clean bedding, fresh water, social interaction with those of
their own kind, a place to exercise, even tubes to burrow in. Would
that mouse feel any less terror were it gasping for breath in a CO2
chamber sometimes for minutes on end? Would it feel any less terror
being stunned and then having its neck snapped or its back broken?

Mother nature developed mice with a specific role in the food chain and
the ecology, furthermore she developed ferrets with the ability and
tools to capture the mice. Mice scavenge and cleanup the garbage left
behind by other animals as well as humans, mice have the ability to eat
practically anything and not just survive but procreate. Their numbers
can multiply immensely and our planet would soon be overrun without the
natural controls of predators like snakes, hawks, owls, foxes, ferrets
and a myriad of other animals where mice and rodents are a large part
of their diet.

Mother nature has designed the ferret with unique tools to capture and
dispatch rodents, An experienced ferret will dispatch a mouse in mere
seconds, often before you can count one-two-three. During the learning
curve when the ferret is becoming a predator it can sometimes take a
minute or two to catch the mouse and dispatch it. Generally by the
third mouse the ferret has learned the proper technique. This is not
barbaric, it is not ridiculous it is however mother nature's design.

If there is such a thing as all meat kibble I would be very interested
to see a link to such a product. Not that I would allow my ferrets to
eat the kibble because even if the kibble is made of all meat it is not
a form that is healthy for the ferret to eat. No matter what kibble is
made of it has to be cooked and that has to be processed and it has to
have preservatives and kibble is dry and hard and will not clean the
teeth or promote oral health. While the ferrets rescued will show
immense improvements when changed to quality kibble, only on a natural
diet will you see the true optimal health of the ferret.

"Historically" speaking ferrets are not the first "designer" animals
bred by man. Most likely the dog and/or horse were the first animals
bred by man for man's purposes. The dog possibly to eat and then hunt
with and the horse first of all to eat and then to ride and perform
work duties. History is unclear whether cats or ferrets were next in
line on domestication. Let's not forget the cattle and swine that have
been domesticated and designer bred for man's purposes.

The ferrets purpose for man up until recent years has been
predominantly to hunt rodents and lagomorphs (rabbits). Just as the
domestication of the horse and cow have not changed their dietary
needs, even though humans create concentrates and processed foods for
them, their basic needs remain the same as their wild ancestors. Feet
either of these animals too much processed food and you end up with
life-threatening health consequences.

Some people have a hard time understanding that the $300 cage, the $50
bedding set hundreds of dollars worth of brightly colored tunnels,
toys, stuffed animals, balls and other toys are not exactly what the
ferret needs for proper enrichment; but they are things that make the
human feel good to offer to the ferret.

Offering live food as opposed to processed food does offer the ferrets
better nutrition and optimal health, not just physical health but
emotional and psychological health which is difficult for some people
to understand or accept. I don't expect everybody to understand that,
some never will. If you feed kibble that contains meat and maintain the
idea that no animal suffered to produce that kibble then when can I get
a ticket to your Disneyland? Any animal that eats meat does so at the
expense of another's life.

I choose to create a life, nurture it and offer it a happy existence
until its final moment. My ferrets dispatch the mice so quickly most
mice never even get a squeak out, they don't know what hit them.
That is not being cruel or barbaric or ridiculous. It is being
conscientious, informed and committed to offering my ferrets the
best I can for them!

Now, where's my club? I gotta go bash a mouse....
(Sorry, couldn't resist - you know it must be the barbarian within)

Cheers,
Kim

please visit :
for ferret help and info:
http://holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi
http://ferretopia.proboards51.com/index.cgi
yahoo groups Natural Ferrets

for fun: 
www.vanityferret.com (password required: "FerretsRfun")

[Posted in FML 6232]