Barbara,
 
Yeah, I've often wondered about humane societies who feel that the most
humane way to handle an animal is to put it to sleep, even when there are
people wanting to adopt those specific creatures.
 
During soph year at Brown I was in a psych course where lab rats were used.
The rats had to be "experimentally naive," meaning that they wouldn't be
re-used, and when I asked our prof what would happen to them, she said that
they'd be destroyed following the semester.
 
I asked her if I could adopt the ones that our group was working with, and
she said I could not, for the reason that they had to insure that the rats
would be humanely handled in their lifetimes and that in order for me to keep
them I'd need to purchase special expensive cages and deal with frequent
visits to see that I provided a "suitable" home. Since I was living in a
no-pets-allowed dorm at the time, and didn't have much money, this wasn't
an option.
 
Speaking of money, here's another query - how much does it cost per year to
keep a ferret fed, healthy, well housed, etc?
 
Thanks to everyone who has been answering my queries! They've been really
helpful and I'm saving a lot of the info that is posted / mailed directly.
I am holding off on adopting a ferret, since (a) I do live in RI and am not
sure if it's illegal to own or simply illegal to sell them, and (b) my house
would be difficult to make safe for a ferret - way many crevices and gaps and
small niches, and I wouldn't want to confine the ferret to a room.
 
But when I move elsewhere, I'll definitely be on the lookout for a ferret pet!
 
Geri
 
[Posted in FML issue 0225]