Melissa wrote:
>I do remember someone mentioning that they were bitten while judging a
>few of Di's ferrets.  Is this a disqualification in most shows?  I know
>it is in dog shows.And would the fact that ferrets were unsocialized
>frequently from a breeder be a good indicator of a potential problem?
 
That is a good question and a good point.  While it is true that biting
may at times happen with ferrets who aren't abused it could be that the
potential benefits of disqualifications for biting may be useful for
helping weed out abusers who would sell on the basis of ribbons they
should not have.
 
I still have not heard if level of muscularity and muscle tone are used
as part of the judging criteria.  It takes a decent length of time to
build those and they also are often indicators of health as well as of
living conditions.  A person can't put muscle on a ferret at the last
minute, unlike a last minute clean-up of a normally abused and filthy
ferret.
 
It would be great if the judging criteria themselves are continually
improved to weed out abusers who are just are ribbons and money: caution
shown in relation to fancy looks in case they might have related health
or longevity problems, concern for possible indicators of lack of
exercise and socialization, etc.
 
What are some other possible indicators of abuse which can be looked for
and which may possibly reasonably result in disqualification or in points
lost?
 
The less chance animal abusers have of making a quick buck on ferrets the
better it is for ferrets.
 
It certainly is true that shelters have costs which aren't covered by
donations to places like SOS.  The things about SOS are that they provide
a way for those who want to contribute but are otherwise leery of doing
so to know that they have helped both with safeguards being present and
with the donations being tax deductible.  Having a way to overcome those
concerns can only improve the donations which shelters receive.  I feel
like jumping out of my skin whenever I read something where a person
thinks that sheltering can create a profit situation.  The money and
hours which those doing the sheltering provide are all gifts to ferrets
and I've never heard of a shelter which didn't place a financial and a
labor hardship on the people running the shelters.  Contributions don't
keep up to needs, but perhaps if more feel safe enough to give then the
gap can be made a little smaller.  Another thing folks have to remember
is that rescues seem to come in "Flavor of the Week" at times in that
people tend to forget continuing needs and debts within a week or three
of a major rescue.  Those who get paychecks at times other than the weeks
when these rescues occur are asked to put something in your budget to
send out to help because there will still be needs.  A person can give
directly to shelters or to their vets (and the list of shelters at the
SOS site is one way to find the info to do either of those), or can give
through the SOS itself: http://www.supportourshelters.org .
 
(BTW, I am not directly involved with either the SOS or the recent
rescue.)
[Posted in FML issue 4230]