With all this talk about educating general shelters and such I would
like to say that here in Raleigh the ASPCA and other general shelters
are interested in learning about ferret care.  The problem arises in
the fact that assembling all their volunteers at one time, or even over
several segments ,for training is very difficult.  We have given them
educational material and they usually contact the TRIFL (Triangle Ferret
Lovers club) when they get a ferret turned in and we help them with
placement and care.
 
Maybe this would be a place where Marshals or one of the other larger
ferret farms could be prevailed upon to help.  Perhaps they could provide
resources or funds to educate and establish some sort of certification
system for pet store owners and shelters.  Over time this could lead to
only certified pet stores selling ferrets.
 
This is just a thought on how to establish a minimum level of knowledge.
Certification does provide some incentive to learn especially if backed
by a well known source.  Even if there were no legal standard involved
it would be a way to provide a degree of comfort.  Like buying a
certified preowned vehicle provides a degree of comfort.
 
Ken Nyren
 
Ken Nyren, 8/8/2006
[Posted in FML issue 5329]