Q:"...I'm looking for an authority on these subjects to set us all
   straight. Are you around, Bob?'
 
A: Sure, but I'm trying to be asquare.
 
"1. Ferrets are the third most popular domesticated animal."
 
False.  The correct statement is "third most popular domesticated
carnivore." To be the third most popular domesticated animal it would have
to surpass goldfish, budgies, rabbits, etc.  That is not currently
realistic, although the day is coming when it will probably change.  I've
found the statement to be somewhat misleading; its akin to the bragging
done by the guy who got third place in a 3-person race.  How many other
*domesticated* carnivores are kept as pets?  Skunks?  Not many more.
 
There are actually a tremendous number of domesticated animals, ranging from
mice and rats to goldfish, to various birds.  Many animals, such as many
tropical fish, are captive wild animals, and not actually domesticated.
The vast majority of domesticated mammals are herbivores and orginally
domesticated as food and there is a growing body of evidence that even the
dog was probably domesticated more for food (called barking mutton) than
either protection or hunting.  Both the cat and the ferret were probably
domesticated to serve as mousers, and the skunk was domesticated as a pet.
The mink has been domesticated, as have several fox species, for their
pelts, used in the fur industry.  Mongeese have been on the road to
domestication several times in history, but never to such a point that
changes in reproduction, human bonding, morphology or phsyiology have taken
place, nor has their selection been entirely under human control.  The
black-footed ferret will most likely become an unintentional domesticated
species.
 
At a deeper level, I think the statement reveals to a marginal degree a
sense of pride at the growth of ferret popularity, but perhaps even more
so, a sense of a community-wide inferiority complex.  "Well, ferrets are as
good as dogs or cats; after all they are the 3rd most popular domesticated
carnivore!" I think we will always be in that position, but so what?
Ferret people follow a slightly different path than many other people,
so why shouldn't our choice in pets reflect our possibly demented
personalities?  Sooner or later someone will make that statement and a
bright person will point out that, excluding skunks whose popularity is
very low, we are last in a 3-pet race with very little chance to catch or
even surpass.
 
Bob C and 20 Mo' Domestic Dodos
[Posted in FML issue 2543]