I just want to insert two cents worth of common sense into an earlier post
about Chinese polecats for adoption.
 
1.  These are wild animals and not domestic pets.  You must have a PERMIT in
most states to keep a wild animal confined, whether it is a wildlife permit,
rehabilitators license, or state /Federal permit - that is up to the
jurisdiction you live in.  it does the animal NO GOOD to be found by the
authorities and be confiscated.
 
2.  These are wild animals and NOT for children, friends, relatives or other
pets to play with.  IF they tolerate human contact, it usually is only the
primary care giver.  They may be lovely to look at, but remember that their
teeth are made for shredding meat.
 
3.  Having a wild animal/semi-tamed or not/ is a lot of work.  They will
need play time - they need vet visits - they need a lot of understanding -
they need their privacy - can you provide all this and still keep everyone
else happy?
 
I'm even leery about some ferrets recently imported from England which
supposedly have European Polecat in their near backgrounds.  These ferrets
might just undo a lot of progress in ferret understanding if they get into
the hands of people who will think nothing of reproducing them just for
their "wilder" nature.  I'm not a big fan of wolf-dog hybrids, nor wild-cat
hybrids, so fitch ferrets are not my fancy either.
 
Just my input, food for thought......
 
Pam
 
ps - the above goes for ranch mink and other mustelids as pets as well.  The
Russian Sable is more closely related to the Fisher than the weasel - for
someone who really wants to get hurt!
[Posted in FML issue 1400]