>From:    Sandi Ackerman <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: re : A serious Marshall?
>I order ferret supplies from Marshall, to resell in order to support my
>rescue efforts.
 
You below agree that MF has a dark cloud over them yet you choose to support
the company.  Okay.
 
That pet stores CAN order directly from MF does not mean that all do.  Many
ferrets do go through brokers.  This allows a pet store to order all animals
from the same source which in turn does the work of arranging the suppliers
for different animals.
 
>>The only dark cloud over MF is the one they themselves have placed there.
>Ditto.
 
http://shell5.ba.best.com/~snopes/spoons/legends/procter.htm
 
Proctor and Gamble has for almost 20 years been dealing with rumors that it
is somehow tied in with Satanists.  A major spreader of this rumor turns out
to be Amway distributors.  This is not directly ferret related but is
evidence that companies can be maligned for competitive reasons.
 
No major ferret organizations "supports" Marshall Farms.  But Marshall Farms
does support ferret owners and organizations of ferret owners.  The
California groups, the rabies and distemper studies have been supported by
Marshall through donations.
 
But one organization saw another organization get support from MF and since
that time has doggedly attacked both MF and the "rival" group.
 
This quote is off the web, I do not wish to continue the internacine war by
saying who said this about whom.
 
|| Unscrupulous organizations that allow ferret mills to sponsor
|| championship rings or accept other valuable considerations
|| from them are sending the wrong message to ferret owners and the
|| general public. By dismissing ethical standards as "politics,"
|| they contribute to the problem instead of the solution.
 
This is why the big stink about MF.  Its because MF sponsored a single ring
at one ferret show sponsored by a group seen as a rival.  The "big expose"
came out the next month.  Timing is rather co-incidental.  The big point
seemed to be how bad everyone else is so we should be nasty.  Odd article
that was.
 
We will not defend some of Marshall's practices but they are not the
silliness spread across the internet.  This sensationalist type rumor
mongering is hurting the image of the ferret world.  Makes it hard to appear
serious before the government when we "eat our own".
 
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
http://www.zenferret.com/
mailto:[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1982]