I'm probably going to get into big ferret doo-doo here (I have a tendency
to do that, usually by accident.)  But I have a question.  And it's not a
sarcastic question - it's an Honest-Abe question.   How do you figure
Marshall farms is NOT like a puppy mill?   What constitutes a "puppy mill"
and how is a "ferret mill" different?  The way I see it -  puppy mills are
large breeding places where puppies are made, as often as possible -
puppies, from my understanding, are caged in rows and rows - and breeding
the hell out of them is for profit.
 
So, there are thousands of ferrets lined up in rows and rows.   They are
manipulated so they can breed three times a year (NOT like nature intended)
- for three years.  They have the hell bred out of them and then they are
killed because they are not cost effective - and make no more profit.
Other than having a vet on premises.... how is this any different than
puppy mills.  I know a lady who toured Path Valley and was told their
ferrets have such wonderful coats because they are kept in black
boxes/cages.   Marshall Farms admits breeding jills about 3 or 4 times a
year (ladies, would anyone like to be forced into having 4 children in 3
years???)  Based on the fact that nature provides one, maybe two
reproductive cycles in a year -  these poor jills are probably just plain
"worn out".  And after giving their lives in this way - for 3 years, they
are just plain killed and never given a chance to have a normal end to
their life.   But at least there's a vet on premises!
 
So, please, please  explain to me why puppy mills are puppy mills - and
Marshall Farms or Path Valley, too, for that matter -  are not ferret
mills.  I don't understand.  I guess I also can't understand why there
can't be an adoption program - or something similar to the retired
greyhounds as an option.  But silly me, Marshall Farms can't make any money
that way.  It's more PROFITABLE to kill them.  They're excuse is that their
"retired" jills are not pet quality.  To that I say "B...Sh..!!"  The one
thing EVERYONE has agreed on from the start is that MF Ferrets have the
MOST wonderful personalities.  MF prides themselves on breeding these
personalities.  I can't believe for one instant that these retired jills
wouldn't respond to love and kindness... not if the personalities of their
offspring are any clue.
 
Well, for what its worth - that's my opinion -  I don't see any difference
in puppy mills and ferret mills... and truly, I would like to know the
difference...  "Puppy Mill" obviously has a "technical" definition.
Someone please explain it to me... and the difference.
                            Jeanne Stadtmiller
[Posted in FML issue 1305]