NFA/NFR:
 
Since FURO and NAFA already register ferrets, it is unlikely that this
new group NFA could become the 'AKC' of ferrets.  They also want FAR more
money than any other group registering ferrets, 4 or 5 times as much and
with no known background as opposed to several years of data for NAFA and
almost a decade for FURO.  I'm doing what I'm doing for breeders more
than anything else.  I will not charge anyone to give me data - that
doesn't make sense to me at all.  I want all the data I can get.
 
Register with these folks if you want but that is far too much money for
me to give them.
 
Pedigrees:
 
As far as ferret pedigrees.  I know more generations back on my ferrets
than I know on myself - some 12 or more so far.  Pedigrees were not recorded
much earlier than the 70s that I have found but I can trace some ferrets
back to parents in England in some cases.  We provide pedigrees with our
kits.  There are two versions; a short form in a fancy certificate and a
long form on plain paper.  Neither is useful for a pet ferret.  The fancy
one can be used as a 'cute' thing to give an air of importance to the
ferret, ferrets are as good as dogs and cats which also often come with a
pedigree.  The long form has more information and is to allow other
breeders to know as much as possible about one of our kits before it it
is bred.
 
It is true that pet store ferrets do not have traceable pedigrees and
that these are most of the ferrets found but not the only ferrets.  The
people I am working with are debating the worth of keeping records on pet
store ferrets.  Some of us feel that the pedigree information with its
associated genetically traceable traits is the only purpose.  Some of us
think that gathering enough data to track lifespan and medical trait
differences between private breeder ferrets and pet store ferrets could
be valuable.  The mostly anecdotal information used in the debates on
early spay/neuter could be replaced by more substantial statistics.  The
only recorded data I know of is valuable but there are questions as to
whether it is skewed through circumstances (not malice as I trust the
source).
 
I am gathering information from any published source (that allows it - I
won't break copyright laws where they apply - i.e. the FURO studbook).
Most information is coming from ferret show catalogs going back to the
IFA days.  Any information I can get from other sources is welcome.
There will be no way this can be used to track 'who has how many
ferrets' or anything else that could compromise owners.  The pedigree
information will likely be the most accessible - which doesn't concern
the average owner.
 
bill killian
zen and the art of ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 1379]