Folks, lets start pointing fingers at the *real* culprit here...Pet stores
and Joe Q Public.
 
Pet stores want items they can sell.  If it doesn't sell, it doesn't make
them money.  If it's a live item, it costs them money until they *can* sell
it.  There are responsible pet stores out there, but by and large, the
bottom line is the important thing, and many time chains, especially in
urban areas, may have a high turnover rate of employees who may not know
about the animals, even if they do care.
 
There is a certain age where animals are most appealing to (most) people.
They are more likely to *buy* the animal at that age.  And that age tends
to be young.  Pet stores who are in the *business* of selling animals to
make money (not all pet stores sell pets), will get animals in at that age
where people are most likely to buy them unless there are reasons not
to...especially if their competition down the street is doing the same.
 
Ferrets are not a pet for everyone...if people doubt that just look at
the fact that we talk about and constantly joke about poop on the floor,
something that many people would not tolerate from their pets.  They are
active inquisitive critters...but tend to be less so at the age that they
are commonly found in pet stores...less like a ferret and more like a
kitten, to which they are often equated.  If Joe Public were introduced to
a 12 week old normal active ferret kit, they may think it cute but not as
cute as the 6-8 week old, but they may think twice about their ability to
care for it (which would be a good thing).  And the store would be less
likely to sell the 12 week...as is commonly posted about here on the
FML...a kit that doesn't get bought within a few weeks of it arriving at
the store has a *long* wait ahead of it.
 
The ANSWER to the problem of kits arriving too young at the pet store is
to educate the public, and more effective in the short term probably, put
pressure on your local pet stores to demand that the kits sent to them from
wherever are older.  Not just one in the area...but all pet stores, so they
don't need to worry about the "cute fuzzy" stage competition.  I imagine
that MF was sending them a bit younger and may still be to some areas
because the pet stores were demanding that they send ferrets...period.
When PetCo moved into the Twin Cities, MN area, they were selling 300+
ferrets A WEEK for nearly a year.  (And the shelter will be feeling the
backlash for years.) When they were selling that good, you'd better bet the
stores didn't want to wait a few extra weeks for older kits!  The stores
that *did* want older kits were having problems getting them because the
general demand for kits was so big.
 
The public has to stop wanting them so young, but in the mean time, don't
complain about MF or any other business until you've gotten the pet stores
that sell ferrets in your area to demand older kits (and remember what they
tell you as part of the public may not be the real truth) *and* refuse to
take younger ones.  The businesses will follow where the demand leads...
that's their business after all, agree with it or not.
 
(And do remember that stores or distributers can try to pass off ferrets as
MF ferrets.  Marshall Farms ferrets come with an information packet!  All
too often stores don't even tell people that!)
 
Sue
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[Posted in FML issue 3024]