well...
 
I was going to respond to "Big Dave from the Enclave" AKA Pax... but,
well, why ?
 
Anyhow, on the subject of ferrets and petstores., I just wanted to offer
some thoughts..
 
Over here in Australia we do not have as many restrictions about selling
ferrets in petstores, as those in the USA do, though we still have some...
 
But, it should be sufficient to say, that "most" ferret owners "may" buy
their first ferret from a pet store, but then they quickly become "ferret
wise"
 
ie: they start to learn a lot about pet ferrets because they NEED to....
and quite often then their next ferret, ( and the one after, and the next
one, and the one they just had to save) all come from "rescues", or
shelter services..
 
The ONLY reason why pet stores can sell ferrets is a/ they are very very
young and cute, and appeal to those "thinking about it" or b/ they intend
to create a "market" for ferret food, ferret toys etc..
 
ferrets are simply too expensive to keep in a "pet store" on the off
chance they are sold... "puppies" go quickly, so do kittens... ferrets on
the other hand may hang around for weeks.... or months... or longer..
because they require specialized food etc, and very quickly out live
their dollar value, i.e.: they cost more to keep them, then it does to
sell them... however... if you are trying to market "ferret toys, ferret
cages, etc.. well.. get ferrets and sell them.. create a "market"
 
The ONLY way I can see of beating the PETSTORES, is, for ferret shelters,
rescue services, and breeders, to OUTBID them..
 
for example, why buy a ferret at a petstore, when you can get a ferret,
fully immunized, desexed, nip trained etc, from a reputable shelter..
for free ( or at a minimum cost) ?
 
Because, it is only the "new buyers", the trendy set, the people who
think baby ferrets are "cute", that petstores are aiming for..
 
EDUCATION and ADVERTISING is the key... not slagging petstores, or
boycotting certain breeders... because only "US The ferret owners,
breeders, and rescue/shelters", who know the truth..  not the innocent
pet buyer...
 
who among us, hasn't walked into a petstore ( even if only to give the
baby ferrets some human time) but still, they then saw something else, (
a rat, angora rabbit, puppy) and went "oh... how cute".... (most of us
resist it, but we feel it)
 
Petstores are "public domain" and uniformed people will walk in every
day... and see ferret,s or sugar gliders, or even rats and mice, and
want them...
 
The trick, ( in my opinion) is to make the public aware that "ferrets"
are free, from any shelter... fully immunized, trained, and personally
matched to the new owner...
 
OR..  They can pay $30 (or more) at a petstore, and, then their new
ferret may still need to get "shots" and "checkups" or may be nippy,
untrainable, etc, etc
 
In otherwords, rather then us ferret owners boycotting petstores ( what
impact will that have ?  we were not going to buy any ferrets there
anyway ?  so saying..  "We will not buy your ferrets"..  mmm..  doesn't
do much..), but instead, informing the public more and more, and
outbidding the petstores, will probably make more of a difference..
IMHO.
 
Darrin
[Posted in FML issue 4700]