Please forward to the FML:
 
[Moderator's note: Mr. Sellers asked me to forward this reply to the FML.
Note that it is in response to something well over a month old.  BIG]
 
Johan Lund:
 
With all due respect to the scientists with whom you spoke, they are mistaken
and are misleading you.  The Domestic Ferret (Mustela putorius furo) is
recognized by most authorities to be a suspecies specific of the European
polecat (Mustela putorius putorius) and diverges from the polecat in many
significant physical, psychological, and behavioral characteristics.  Among
these differences are:
 
The gene for albinioism is common in ferrets, but rare in wild polecats.
 
The Domestic Ferret's skull is narrower and the eyes are set lower and closer
which actually gives the ferret a blind spot directly in front of the nose
which the wild polecat does not have.
 
The eyesight of wild polecats has a broader range of color recognition.  The
ferret's vision is monochromatic.
 
The wild polecat has a far greater ability to pinpoint the location from which
a sound originates than does the domestic ferret, a useful hunting/survival
skill.
 
The wild polecat has a greater tolerance for temperature extremes.
 
I have additional information, although not right at my fingertips. Please
feel free to contact me through the AFA.
[Posted in FML issue 1132]