A couple of weeks ago, a columnist in a local paper (noted for being
provocative) said some pretty harsh things about ferrets and their owners.
He referred to ferrets as smelly, wild animals, glorified rats, and "one
rung above vermin".  He referred to us as "anthropomorphic boneheads" who
should be checked.
 
I spent quite a bit of time talking to him on the phone about ferrets.
While initially he seemed to be just humoring me, I think he came around
after I barraged him with a wealth of information and statistics.  If I
didn't feel he had been convinced, I would have sicced the Internet
community on him!
 
Anyway, he suggested I write a letter to the editor, which was printed
yesterday.  There was also another letter by a local ferret lover in the
Sunday edition, which I haven't seen yet.
 
Here's my letter:
 
"I would like to correct some of the misinformation about ferrets that Paul
Facinelli expressed in his column of March 4, 1998.
 
First, ferrets are not wild animals and are not rodents.  They are members
of the Mustelid family, related to minks and weasels, and were first
domesticated several thousand years ago for the same reason as cats: to keep
rats, mice and other troublesome vermin at bay.  The domestic ferret cannot
survive in the wild, and should not be confused with its distant cousin, the
endangered black-footed ferret.
 
Nor do ferrets necessarily have a unpleasant smell.  Unneutered male ferrets
can exude quite strong odors while in season, but most ferrets sold in pet
stores today are already neutered, and have only a faint musky smell.
 
Ferret do have sharp teeth, and can bite.  But so do dogs and cats.  In 1995
in Ohio, about 19,000 dog bites and 3,000 cat bites were reported to local
health departments, in comparison to only 27 ferret bites.  Given the
relative numbers of the animals, bites from dogs and cats are about 100 and
10 times more common, respectively, than bites from ferrets.
 
Ferrets can be enchanting, affectionate pets.  But no animal should be left
unattended with a small child.  Rather than blame the nature of the animals,
we should promote education for responsible parenting and pet ownership."
 
Linda Iroff
North Coast Ferret Shelter West
http://www.oberlin.edu/~liroff/ncfs.html
[Posted in FML issue 2251]