Q: "Can you give me any info about Marshal farms?  My ferret is from there
and has developed insulinoma, my vet says that 90% of the ferrets from
marshal farms meet their demise this way due to the way they are bred.
Is this true?"
 
A: Only if you believe in fairy tales.  Not to be confused with Fairy
Tails, which are real because I saw one on HBO.
 
I cannot offer ANY evidence to support or disprove that statement.  It is
sort of like walking into my library and asking me to prove I haven't
opened a specific file cabinet drawer in the last month.  I could neither
prove I did or I didn't.
 
However, I sincerely doubt if the insulinoma rate is 90% for ANY GROUP OF
FERRETS.  How do I know that?  Because there are a group of vets that love
to be published in various veterinary literature (including books) and
would LOVE to find such a high rate of disease so they would be first in
publication.  I did a series of searches in the various online
bibliographic search engines and found absolutely nothing which would
suggest such a high rate of occurance.  So, if such an event is actually
true, either no one else knows, or no one else is telling.  No way it could
be kept secret.  I personally think the vet was exagerating in a manner
that is not only unethical but dishonest and prejudical.
 
There are two issues here.  1) The breeding practices of Marshall Farms.
2) The rate of insulinoma in ferrets.  If the breeding practices of
Marshall Farms increases the insulinoma rate, how does the vet know it is
true?  How did the vet subtract environment, diet, age and pelt coloration
from the equation?  That suggests a major study costing lots of bucks.
Such studies, if done on a grant, are typically always published as soon as
possible.  Its a guaranteed publication.  Where is it?
 
While I personally have problems with some of Marshall Farms' practices
(early neutering, descenting, very early sale of the kit, multiple
breedings per year, etc), I can find no fault with their genetic selection
for breeding.  Because of their sales for research, they are very careful
to maintain animals free of as much genetic problems as possible.  To them,
it is an economic issue.  They take care to make sure their product is as
free of genetic defects as possible because to do otherwise would cause
them great financial harm.  (DO NOT SEE THIS PARAGRAPH AS AN ENDORSEMENT
OF MARSHALL FARMS).
 
I think the real problem in ferrets is the same as in humans; old age.
What do older humans die of?  Primarily cardiovascular disease and cancers.
Are humans genetically weaker because of breeding practices?  Not the
population as a whole.  We have just maximized our genetic potiential for
age.  Some cancers increase as the human ages simply because there is a
longer time for genetic damage to take place, increasing the risk.  Heart
disease increases with age because the environmental damage (lack of
exercise, smoking, obeseity) increases over time.  The older you get, the
more of a chance such disease will happen.
 
Ferrets are the same way.  They are creatures designed to only live a few
years in the wild, yet we are keeping them alive for 6, 8 even 10 or more
years.  It is a natural phenomenon that certain types of disease will
increase their incidence with time.  Because ferrets are keep indoors in
the USA, they experience the same environmental risks and suffer the same
environmental damage as humans.  If you smoke, so does your ferrets, so
expect to see an increase in cancers and heart disease.  If you keep your
ferrets in cages most of the time, assume they are the ferret equivilent of
the human couch potato, and expect an increase in cardiovascular disease.
The reason you see the problem in ferrets so readily is because their
lifespans are so short.  If you could live to be 2000 years old, you would
see the same sort of phenomenon in humans who are chronically overweight,
lack exercise, or smoke.
 
While I am convinced insulinoma is realted to diet and adrenal disease is
related to physiological and emotional stress, I also recognize they are
diseases that are tied to time.  As ferrets grow older, the rate of disease
increases.  So, in my opinion, while I think there are environmental links
to disease risk, I also think there is a time link as well.  I do not think
it relates to Marshall Farms breeding practices (except for those that
increase stress, but NOT genetics).
 
Still, I think this is a good topic for debate.  Any other opinions?
 
Bob C and 16 Mo' Ferrets De-stressed
[Posted in FML issue 2921]