This is the time of year (in North America) when many juvenile animals are
being sent packing by their parents. Of the North American mustelids,
about four are commonly mistaken for ferrets (least weasel, ermine or
short-tailed weasel, long-tailed weasel and mink). When these little
guys are found in places they really don't want to be, ferret shelters
are often called to pick up the "ferret." Ove the last few years, I have
had at least 20 phone-calls or emails asking what the animal was and what
should be done with it. In nearly every case, because either because the
little fella was SOOOO cute, or because of shock or injury SOOOOO apprently
tame, the shelter person took them home.
If you have never listened to me before, please take my advice and listen
to me now. PLEASE, DO NOT EVER BRING A WILD MUSTELID HOME!! Put a rubber
band around your hand, and when you are tempted, snap yourself back to
reality. Do not do it for ANY reason, EVEN if it means the little guy will
probably die. Here are a few good reasons:
1) Wild animals will not normally allow you to approch them. Even if the
flight distance is small, it is still there. ANY wild animal that appears
tame or friendly is usually sick, in shock or injured. When the animal
returns to normal, so will the defense mechanisms and you will very likely
get a bite for your efforts. Just recently, I warned someone that the
tameness in a mink was because of the injury and they had to be very
careful because a bite was a death warrant. Sure enough, the mink, after a
short recovery, bit the person who was surprised because just the other day
it was so friendly. The mink was tested for rabies. This mink was rescued
to death.
3) Virtually ALL diseases and parasites of mustelids will infect
domesticated ferrets; if you don't believe me, look at disease research and
see what animal is used to model the effects of mustelid diseases. If a
mink can catch it, you can be damn sure the ferret can as well. Bringing
home a wild mustelid that hasn't gone through some sort of quarrantine
process is reckless and irresponsible. You can infect your ferrets with
disease-bearing ticks or fleas, various viral and bacterial diseases,
worms, mites, and even ringworm. I got a call last month from a lady who
rescued an ermine only to wind up with a very nasty case of ringworm. Last
year, a person on the FML lost three ferrets because a rescued mink
introduced some sort of an enteritis which killed the ferrets in a matter
of days. Remember! If the wild mustelid is friendly or appears tame, it
is almost certainly in shock, injured or ill. If ill, it can spread to
your ferrets. Even if the wild mustelid is aggressive and clearly not ill,
it can STILL carry disease. Don't think that just because you didn't touch
the animal that you are safe: you don't always need direct contact for many
diseases. Your ferrets can catch it from your clothing, your shoes, the
pet carrier, even the carseat. DON'T BRING IT HOME!
3) If you rescue a wild mustelid, you are probably breaking the law and can
be cited or arrested with chances of stiff fines. Mustelids are typically
classified as 'fur-bearers" which means they are protected by specific
hunting regulations which forbid their collection without permit. I got
myself into some hot water once by picking up a road-killed mink. The fish
and game officer drove by as I was putting it on ice. Since the state
collecting permit was on file at the university and not on my person, I was
cited for collecting a furbearer out of season. When I produced a copy of
the permit, the charges were dropped. The point is, the game warden could
care less if the mink was clearly hit by a car; he only cared about my
permit. Also, states have specific requirement for housing wild animals
and typically require permits and inspections.
4) People are scared of rabies, and if you bring a wild mustelid home,
even if your ferrets have rabies tags, you have just increased the chances
that they will be tested if any of them--wild or pet--bites, scratches or
otherwise breaks the skin of someone. The officals won't care about
evidence, contact or shots. They will only care about "possibility" and
your ferrets could earn a French haircut.
5) Wildlife rehab is a special science which requires (or should require)
extensive training. Usually, if an animal is deemed worthy of release,
they are not cuddled, but instead are imprinted with fear of humans using a
variety of unpleasant techniques. When you handle a wild animal to lessen
their fear, you have lessened their chances of survival should they ever
find their way beck into the wild. You concentrate on rescuing ferrets;
let the wildlife rehabber do their job.
6) Wild mustelids are beautiful but they make really poor pets. The only
way you can be sure a mink or weasel will treat you right is if you start
handling it before and right after weaning. If no early human imprinting
occurs, they don't tame well. Even if human imprinting is done early, the
animals are still unreliable towards other people. Wild animals are
typicaly destructive of property, do not do well with other pets, and can
bite without notice. Some would actually see a ferret as food, or could
pick a fight your ferret would have no chance of defending.
Please, for the sake of your ferrets, leave wild mustelids were you find
them. No one wants to see a poor animal die; but you have to realize your
job is rescuing FERRETS; let the wildlife rehabbers do their job. There
are so many nasty diseases that can be spread from wild mustelids, ranging
from bone-eating microscopic worms to tuberculosis to plague to rabies to
mange to distemper to things you have never even heard of. Do not put your
shelter or home at risk for a sweet face unless you are physically,
financially, educationally and legally capable of doing so. If you do pick
up a mink or weasel, PLEASE keep it in strict quarrantine until it has been
PROVED to harbor no communicatible disease. If you are biten by a wild
animal, concider it beheaded, and realise that YOU are to blame.
Bob C and 18 MO' Carpet Monkeys
[Posted in FML issue 2808]
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