I have been lurking for a while, and I have checked the stars, and they say
it is a fortuitous time to come out of hiding! :)  So here is my two cents
on this debate.
 
I am one of those people who got their first set of ferrets from a pet
store, knowing not a gosh-darn thing about ferrets except they were
1) adorable, 2) adorable, and 3) destined to be mine.  And like many new
owners, I did some *really* stupid things at first, and was fortunate to
avoid any real tragedies (they came back from between the floorboards, they
did not fall in the toliet and drown, etc...:)  And I also learned a lot
about ferrets and the 'ferret community', and made sure that the next two I
got were rejects and shelter ferrets, and I think I would not get one from
a store again, since there are so many 'pre-loved' ferrets in need.
 
The good thing about stores is that you get people like me, but the bad
thing is that you get people like a woman I know who's ferret *did* fall in
the toilet and drown, and the only reason it didn't happen to me was that
mine never tried to get in there - it *never occurred* to me that they
might.  So many of us are ignorant at first, and even though we get better,
some ferrets suffer.  But I never would have bought a ferret if it wasn't
for the store, and now there are two shelter ferrets with homes with me, and
more I am sure to come...:)
 
In short, perhaps it would be best to have only ferret-knowledgeable people
getting them, but that is unlikely I think.  If fewer people get ferrets
from stores, then, presumeably, demand will drop and fewer will be bred for
stores.  Unfortunately, if you do that you get a period of time where those
poor babies in the stores do not get bought, or have to live in the store
for a long time before they do.  Better for ferrets overall if a few go
through that?  Maybe, but it's a hard call.
 
Anyway, thanks for listening.
 
Megan, Anastasia 'why would anybody get in a toilet?', Lexie 'I'm not a
reject, mom!', and Sammi 'don't blame me, i'm new here'
 
--
 
        "Taken out of context I must seem so strange."
                        - Ani di Franco
[Posted in FML issue 2411]