To Anita & 3 biting ferrets in the pet store - Tristate Frt Ass'n - Please
let us know what the memebers experience in their TLC program to get these
3 ferts to stop biting.
 
May I suggest that had these 3 ferts been fed a warm liquid soup diet
at weening they'd likely be Kissy-Lickers (KLers) now rather than BSers
(Biter - Scratchers).  The quickest and most bloodless way to convert them
to KLers is to encourage their licking reflex by feeding them warm soup
every day.  Soon they'll be licking the soup off you very fingers and, ach
Du lieber!* no more punctured, bleeding fingers.
 
To Carsten in Germany: Am shocked to read of anti-ferret movement there and
in New Zealand both.  In Germany, what are the reasons the anti-ferret
people are against ferrets?  In the insular land mass of New Zealand, with
many highly susceptible ground dwelling birds that have no natural fear of
a ferret, there is the understandable concern that some creatures would be
driven into oblivion by the loose running "DOMESTICAL"** ferret.
 
Same is true in the Hawaiian Islands, especially since the mongoose fiasco there
to control the rat was a total failure.
 
To Janke and Hepper on the pellet gun: As an Armed Services Veteran and a
past member of the US Navy Big Bore (.30 cal) Rifle Team, let me address
this very delicate issue of putting down an animal with a pellet rifle (not
a pellet pistol).
 
Readers of a "delicate nature" are urged to stop reading this post any
further.  You may not be able to accept the following.  The typical .177
or .22 caliber pellet rifle is capable of projecting into ballistic flight
a lead pellet of sufficient velocity (within defined range of the muzzle)
to pass completely through the densest portion of a small animal's body,
namely the skull.  Here I refer to the Eastern Grey Squirrel, as an
example.  The skull of the ferret is certainly comparable in density and
mass.
 
For reasons that I choose to avoid citing here, let it be known that I have
been obliged to kill 222 squirrels, 1989 to date.  All have been killed by
a .177 cal pellet explosively ejected from a Benjamin air rifle at point
blank range.  Death is very sudden as a consequence of the pellet
traversing laterally through the squirrel's brain ear to ear.  The
squirrel's death is instantaneous such that it is dead before it collapses
on the ground.  As I see it, this method of euthanasia is as effective as
chemically induced death proscribed by a vet, albeit so much faster but a
bit less "clinical & dry."
 
As a service to the ferret community I have offered my skilled service in
euthanizing any ferret brought to me by its legal owner accompanied by a
signed "Death Certificate" or equivalent from a licensed vet.  THERE IS NO
EUTHANIZATION CHARGE OF ANY KIND, WHATEVER, WHEREVER,& WHENEVER.  A modest
fee is charged to cover the cost of the disposition of the ferret remains
in accord with the rqmts of the Seattle Dept of Public Health.  Some have
asked the cremated remains of their pet be sealed in an appropriate vase or
box addorned with a bust photograph of their pet, for which there are
substanntial additional charges.
 
As far as I know we are only one of two organizations that offer this
service in the United States.  If requested, a complimentary color
photograph of the snow capped Cascade mountains as seen from the location
of the ferret's final and secret resting place is offered to the owner.
As a precaution any deceased ferret or other small animal sent to us for
services must be shipped in the appropriate Bio-Hazard, insulated,
refrigerated and sealed container that meets the requirements of the U.S.
Postal Service.  We can only accept a deceased animal for which prior
written authorization to ship has been issued by Ferrets NorthWest FNW.
 
Edward Lipinski, Abset invidia [L.] No offense intended.
*Ach Du lieber! [G.] Ohh (you) dear! (one)
**DOMESTICAL and not domesticated, since the ferret is certainly not
  domesticated but rather is being processed (adapting)towards some final
  time when the domestication will be complete and no further adaptive
  changes can be made.  At that time the ferret will be "domesticatED."
  But, not now certainly.
[Posted in FML issue 2569]