Unless something has changed, in 1996, the HSUS included ferrets as
domesticated companion animals in their list, so they should be safe,
but who knows.
IMO and many other peoples, regardless of what vets consider ferrets,
to us they are not "exotics", because they are truly domesticated,
and the USDA agrees. And to many people, rabbits are livestock, and
a lot of older vets I know consider them that as well (which is why
they get terrible reviews for bedside manner with regard to rabbits).
Just because they are being bred as pets for a domestic setting does
not make them domesticated. This is something a lot of people, and
lawmakers, have trouble understanding. And as far as the HSUS campaign
goes - we would have to wait and see what exactly they are going to
label exotic. Most of the small animals considered exotics, such as the
reptiles, are not domesticated. Hamsters, mice, and rats are considered
domesticated, but the truth of the matter is, only very recently
compared to cats, dogs, ferrets, and food animals. The same goes for
such as canaries and finches, but the parakeets, parrots, and such
are not domesticated, nor are reptiles/amphibians and score of other
"exotic pets".
For vets, it's a simple way of saying "I do more than cats and dogs",
just like saying you're a livestock vet means you do farm animals, and
for a few other vets, it's a good way to charge an "exotic fee" on the
bill. I'm completely serious, and have experienced this in many a vet's
office, which is just sad, especially given that many vets who charge
that fee often don't even know how to take care of a ferret, but
they'll gladly say they see and know ferrets to get your money. You
know how many ferret calls I have had where the supposed "exotic vet"
who is supposedly trained in ferrets has sent home a ferret with low
blood sugar with the advice of giving the ferret sugar water for the
rest of its life. Simply amazing and scary, given what is going on
that rescues never hear about or have an opportunity to fix.
I totally agree, ferrets can go feral in New Zealand, but even if
ferrets have gone feral here in the US, US ferrets don't create wild
populations. And there has not been an actual "feral" ferret found,
or seen, hunting and killing and surviving/thriving. Even back in the
day, when Ohio was the breeding capital of ferrets and they were sold
intact/whole, and they were being kept in open cages in fields to
control populations of animals, they were not being reported as going
feral. In fact, the field pest control ferrets were supplied with
water and milk and bread...they didn't eat what they killed.
Because of the polecat x ferret crosses that were deliberately placed
in the wild in NZ, any ferrets that are whole and do escape, that were
already taught or raised in the way of the polecat, as in already
having been fed carcasses or live foods, or who are just plain hardy,
may survive there. Man, not nature, created established colonies in
New Zealand and thus created the conditions for them to survive in, a
population ready to mate with and join. Unfortunately, Fish and Game
doesn't care about the huge difference between NZ and here.
The fact is that cats and dogs go feral and actually harm wildlife
and people in the US, as well as parakeets and lovebirds escaping and
creating *large* flocks of birds...yet these remain legal. And for
those of you in Florida, you know true "exotic" species roam free and
have basically called Florida home for decades after being fads in the
pet trade, birds and reptiles and fish alike....and very little is done
about that as well, usually very lax import laws may be set in place,
but honestly, most pet shops still carry the majority of non-native
species that have invaded there. The sad truth is, most ferrets that
have been dumped and found when outside for more than a few days are
in horrible condition. They do imprint on foods and behaviors at young
ages - and sadly for most US ferrets, going feral just isn't an option
for them in their mind, even to save their life, and even if they did,
we have a lot of hungry feral cats and dogs that would pick them off,
let alone hordes of other established wild species. If we truly had a
problem in the US, ferrets would be trapped, reported to authorities,
be reported to the USDA as pests...farmers are not quiet about problems
they have with wildlife. If there was a problem, we'd have known about
it by now. And no states polled have shown any issues.
Meanwhile, cats and dogs are having puppies and kittens out the wazoo,
filling up shelters everywhere, and we sit without so much as a law to
have all these pets neutered and spayed, no fees for animal dumping...
species which actually have plainly visible feral populations.
Populations are what we should worry about, ecologically....and there
just isn't evidence of that here. But good luck getting California
to acknowledge it.
[PF]
[Posted in FML 7026]
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