I was wondering if anyone knows if there is any regulating body for
breeders.  A number of months ago I checked out a breeder in Maine, who I
originally found out about because he wanted me to post something in my
newsletter about his business.  Just to be safe, I figured I would check him
out.  I was appalled at what I saw.  He had breeders in a dark basement,
which was full of junk.  None of the ferrets appeared to have ever been
bathed, nails clipped, etc.  It did not even appear that he let these
ferrets out of a cage, let alone give them some kind of attention.
Upstairs, he kept his own personal ferrets plus kits.  Even the condtions
upstairs were dangerous.  I immediately called up the Maine Animal Welfare
Department.  They went to check him out (the agent had some knowledge of
ferrets), but they said they could not do anything, as long as they had food
and water.  Of what I also heard from people, this guy must be
interbreeding.  Of other things he told me, it did not sound like he had any
knowledge of breeding, and was just doing it for the money.  The thing that
irked me the most was that he told the agent that he was going to hire
someone to clip nails, because he didn't know how to do it.  This frustrated
me because a month before Animal Welfare came out, I sent him a newsletter
with diagrams and pictures and with excellent instructions on how to do it.
Any suggestions out there as to what should be done to stop this person from
breeding?
 
Mainely Ferrets Association
Mainely [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1884]