I'm probably going to get some nasty mail for this one, but what's so wrong
with auctioning an animal?  Horses are auctioned all the time.  I would have
loved to have the opportunity to get a good deal on a fuzzie, as I don't
generally have $200 to spend on a pet.  Why assume that you are the only one
who knows how to care for an animal or that anyone who might bid on a ferret
will be irresponsible in raising it?  Pet stores and ferret clubs are not
the only place to get ferret info.  There are books, newsletters, pamphlets
you can get from your vet, and even internet mailing lists, believe it or
not.
 
Sure, it's sad when people buy a pet and don't know what kind of a
responsibility they have just assumed, but that can't be helped.  A pet
buyer at an auction is no more or less likely to be a bad pet owner than
someone who pulls into a breeder's driveway with a BMW.
 
As a child, I never had any pet more expensive than a free kitten or a two
dollar rat.  My folks couldn't afford it.  But a ferret would have had a
fine home with us.
 
-Catherine
[Posted in FML issue 1562]