While having a really good day, Bob Rudich <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>Does the early neutering of ferrets cause the illnesses which seem to
>>plague North American ferrets?
>Welcome to the list, Sheila.  Apparently you have a source of information
>that I and others have been seeking.  Where did you get data on the
<snip>
>Another question for you is since the Euro ferrets are so disease free, what
>do they die of?
 
You raise some valid points, but I think that welcoming someone to the list
is best done with sarcasm mode <off>.
 
>What does a jill do if separated from her kits at say 6 weeks?  If you have
<snip>
>development benefit outweighs any of this weaning trauma which, not being a
>breeder, I'm unable to detect.   I've had many kits way younger than you'd
 
>While you are certainly free to do with your kits as you see best, I see no
>problems with the practices of MF or PV in this regard.  Moreover, I'm glad
>I have the choice to get young kits from them.  Shame on you for condemning
 
We could steal 6-year old children from their mothers, take them 1000 miles
away, and toss them out in the streets, too.  No doubt their mothers would
miss them, but hey, I don't know the mother, I don't see any evidence of
trauma, what do I care?  And just think of the *mental stimulation* these
kids are getting!!!  Why, they should all turn out to be the most well-
adjusted pillars of society we've ever seen!!
 
Bob, you once wrote that you don't think before you post, and I am starting
to believe it.  Reputable breeders of any species simply do not do this; not
any that I have met or talked to anyway.  You say that you see no evidence
of the weaning trauma but admit that you are not a breeder, and then demand
proof that the trauma occurs.  Brilliant logic there, asking others to
defend their *observations* when they counter your *non-observations*.
 
As far as having no problems with PV & MF "in this regard", do you really
think that even 2% of the people/pet stores/laborotories that end up with
these ferrets know as much as you about care of such little ones?  Even
someone who seeks the information may not find out until it's too late!!
I'll give you 2 to 1 odds that most of these people believe that the breeder
wouldn't let them go if there was risk of such things as prolapsed rectum,
etc.  Dismissing these things as "ephemeral results that could be brought on
by many things" convinces me about as much as Phillip-Morris Co.  saying
that there is no conclusive link between smoking and lung cancer, and I'm a
smoker who'd like to be convinced of that!  I honestly think that you are
letting your own interest cloud your judgment; there may very well be
"mental stimulation" etc., benefits, but when you flip the coin over, George
Washington turns into a freakin' eagle, too.
 
Till next time,
Ed Atlee
[log in to unmask]
(hoping that Bob isn't in charge of funding for his job ;-)
[Posted in FML issue 1609]