As requested, here are my ten reasons domesticated ferrets, as generally
maintained in the United States, cannot become feral nor establish long-term
feral colonies.
 
1.  Domestic ferrets are poor predators compared to feral dogs, feral cats,
bobcats, grey fox, red fox, longtailed weasel, coyote, and mink.  There is
no record of ferrets establishing anywhere these predators have prior
establishment.  Indeed, mink established in Great Britain at the expense of
the local polecat population.  In New Zealand, ferrets lacked predators, and
in Britain, ferrets have been introduced nearly continously for centuries.
Both examples are flawed because the feral populations are probably
hybridized with local polecat populations.
 
2.  Domestic ferrets are poor reproducers compared to native species,
assuming they can reproduce at all.  Most females are routinely spayed to
prevent death, and most males are neutered to reduce odor and aggression
towards other male ferrets.  Feral colonies cannot be established unless
fertile founder stock is available, which is unlikely.
 
3.  Most domestic ferrets do not recognize potiential predators.  Many live
in homes with other pets, such as dogs and cats, and have positive
experiences with them, and so have little fear of other species.
Additionally, they lack the instinct to recognize New World species as
possible predators, such as bear, cougar, red and gray fox, coyote, feral
dogs, bobcat, and mink.  The very argument that they can establish feral
colonies, that is, that native species don't recognize them as predators, is
the same one which shows it to be unlikely.
 
4.  Most domestic ferrets do not recognize potiential prey.  Ferrets have a
limited span of time in which they learn (by smell) what they can eat.  By 3
months of age, the ferret is typed to specific foods and it takes a long
time for adjustments to take place.  Because most breeders and owners feed
their ferrets commerically available cat and ferret foods, it is unlikely
that the ferret would know prey was food, even if hunting instincts allowed
them to catch it.  They would die of starvation or disease before the
adjustment could be made.
 
5.  Most domestic ferrets live in urban rather than rural settings.  Even if
the odd ferret did manage to escape, it would have to travel some distance
to an environment suitable of sustaining their nutritional needs.
Considering the number one killer of animals, besides hunting, is
automobiles (Up to 90% of the Wales polecat population is killed by cars),
and ferrets have poor eyesight, it is unlikely that the average ferret can
make a successful migration.
 
6.  Most domestic ferrets are generally isolated from other groups of
ferrets because the number of ferret owners are limited.  Even if someone
released an unspayed female in a suitable environment, and assuming it
learned how to kill and eat, it would still have to find an unneutered male
ferret in the same area possessing similar characteristics in order to form
a breeding pair, which is unlikely.
 
7.  Most domestic ferrets are expensive, many times costing $100 to $200 or
more.  This does not fit the profile of the disposable pet.  Most unhappy
owners tend to return the pet for a refund, or try to sell it to someone
else.  Considering the population of ferrets in the United States, the
number of abandoned ferrets is quite small, which reduces the possibility of
groups returning to a feral state.
 
8.  Most domestic ferrets are under owner control; few are allowed to roam
the neighborhood freely, such as dogs or cats.  When outside, they are
typically leashed and closely supervised.  If escapes occur, the owner
usually makes a very strong attempt at recovery, which reduces the chances
for forming feral populations.
 
9.  There has never been any published ecological impact study done in the
United States concerning feral domestic ferrets.  Lots of unsupported
statements are made, but not one piece of scientifically reliable evidence
offered that supports the idea that ferrets can successfully extablish feral
populations, outcompete local predators, and upset local ecosystems.  The
reason no study has been done is because there are no feral populations,
dispite the ferret having been in the USA for several centuries.  The
American mink was imported into Great Britain in 1929 for fur ranching, and
is now established throughout the country in a wild state, but no so in the
US with the ferret, dispite commercial laboratory and pet breeding, fur
ranching, and rabbit and rat ferreting.
 
10.  There are no apparent problems with feral ferrets in Europe, where
domestics have been living for at least 1000 to 2000 years.  The ferret has
been domesticated since 450 BC, and the only reliable reports of feral
populations anywhere in the world are from Great Britain and New Zealand.
(There are lots of rumors and unsupported statements about feral ferrets on
Mediteranean islands, BUT NO PRIMARY REFERENCES!) In that same period of
time, feral cats and dogs have become established throughout Europe, and are
documented problems.
 
This list, at ten, is short.  It would not be difficult to expand it to
twenty or thirty points.  But, as can be seen, it makes it's point, which is
feral ferrets are not a problem.  The spector of danger is unreal; the
rumors are fostered by an unthinking and generally uneducated bureaucracy
who would rather print falsehoods and invent data than do the basic
undergraduate research required of first semester college freshmen majoring
in Big-Ten Sports.  Oh, IMHO, that is.
 
WIld Bob C and the Domestic One Three
[Posted in FML issue 1430]