My turn!  First, let me say that I too feel that turning away an
otherwise appealing ferret in need of a home because it came from MF
is taking things to an extreme.  A ferret in a shelter or a situation
requiring rescue is a ferret in need of a loving home, and MF is long
out of the profit picture involved.  I have three ferrets, all of
which came from MF.  The first I bought from a pet store, the second
I got from a shelter, and the third we rescued from a terrible home
where the people were ignorant of ferrets and had no desire to learn.
Having said that, I really don't think I'd buy a MF ferret from a pet
store again.  There is nothing wrong with the one I did get this way,
in fact she's my special baby, but I have reservations against doing
it again.  Perhaps it is naive to feel that not buying a MF ferret from
a pet store is taking a stand against MF, but then so is it to think
that by buying those ferrets I'm saving them or others from a research
fate.  The ones in the pet store have already avoided that fate and
will be bought by someone.  And in spite of their heavy pet store
sales, MF continues to sell ferrets to research facilities.  If the
demand continues to be high on both sides of the fence, MF will
continue to supply both sides, and if necessary likely increase
production to meet the demand better.
     As far as visiting MF, I'm sure the best thing they could do
for their image would be to allow the visits of ferret proponents to
tour the operation and see that it is not the horror that it is too
often made to sound.  I know that members of The Legion of SuperFerrets
have expressed interest in such a visit, but been told that MF "doesn't
deal with the public".  I've heard several ferret owners or potential
owners say just the same thing when they called MF looking for info
on the origin of their pet.  I've read MF literature and the article
from GCFA stating that MF doesn't spay/neuter prior to six weeks of
age.  I question that based on my observations in the store where I
bought my first ferret.  She was supposedly 8 weeks old when we got
her.  Though I am no breeder, I have seen pictures of very young kits.
If Pixie's age was given to us correctly, and in comparison to those
pictures, the kits I saw at this same store a few weeks ago must have
been no more than 5-6 weeks old.  And they were already neutered and
in the store.  They are from MF.  If MF doesn't spay/neuter before 6
weeks, how do I explain these kits?  It's enough to make me suspicious
anyway.
      Given the above observations, I prefer not to directly support
MF.  I will not, however, tell someone not to buy that darling little
kit they fell in love with a the pet store, as this is a part of the
magic of ferrets... how they seem to choose you, and not the reverse!
I do have a tendency to frequently suggest the local shelters first,
though, and will look in shelters, the newspapers, and to breeders
for my future fuzzies.  Whether I choose to condemn or support MF in
the end is still out...  I don't have full faith in any of the sources
of info I have seen on their operation, be in good or bad.
 
 
Debra
 
[Posted in FML issue 0659]