Gee what a co-incidence.  I am also a realist who just happens to run a
shelter.  I didn't wake up one morning and decide to open a shelter to
collect ferrets so I could solicit donations from people.  I never intended
to be a shelter it just happened.
 
I was one of the few people in the area that had ferrets and the word
spread that I was an owner.  I started getting calls from people concerning
ferrets and then calls from local humane societies and individuals that had
them and couldn't keep them.  I took them in and found good homes for them.
This went on for several years before somebody told me I was a shelter and
it still took two more years for me to accept that fact.
 
You cite breeders as the source of the problem of shelter overcrowding.  I
have gotten very few privately bred ferrets into my shelter.  Most are like
yours, they came from pet stores.  The small breeders I know sell with a
contract that states they will take the ferret back no questions asked.
How many pet stores that sell ferrets have that policy?  If they did the
ferrets would be back at the stores in little glass aquariums filled with
cedar chips instead of my spacious midwest cages where the food and water
are changed daily and litterboxes are cleaned twice a day and the ferrets
are all played with and cuddled at least two hours a day.  What about the
larger breeders that do make a business out of it and do manage to profit.
Like Marshall Farms Path Valley etc.  Do they have a return policy if you
decide you don't want the ferret any more?  Get real.
 
I guess if I wasn't a shelter I would fall into the humanitarian category
because in some instances I do give ferrets to individuals at no charge.
These are special circumstances and it is done when I feel that what's best
for the ferret does not necessarily entail an adoption fee to help cover
its cost of care, medical treatment, etc.  Since most are adopted out with
a fee though I guess that makes me a business of some sort at least in your
eyes.
 
I fail to see how killing a sweet innocent 6 month old ferret whose owners
decided they wanted a dog instead is going to help lower the demand of the
cute 8 week old ferrets being sold in the next town by a money hungry pet
store at christmas.  Thousands of dogs and cats are euthanized on a daily
basis yet people line up in pet stores to buy them You have missed the boat
completely here.  In fact by openly stating you purchased ferrets from a
pet store you are actually adding to the overall problem.
 
I do feel a responsibility to educate the public on ferrets but people
should also take the responsibility to learn about an animal they wish to
own before getting one and pet stores should be a little more knowledgeable
about the animals they are selling.
 
Nobody is perfect but I am doing what I can to make life better for the
ferrets in my care and find suitable permanent homes for all of them.
 
--
Bev Fox
North Coast Ferret Shelter
Ashtabula County, Ohio
http://www.suite224.net/~ncfs1997/
Founding Member - IFWS
[Posted in FML issue 2518]