Animals do have emotions.  They experience the entire range of emotions.
Sadly, some humans don't credit them with emotions nor do they see the
signs.  Ferrets do grieve, show happiness, sadness, anger, frustration,
etc.  From my experience, ferrets are very showing of their emotions if
we only open our eyes.  How many have brought home a baby ferret and
heard it's cries of loneliness and fear throughout the night?  Or seen
the joy when we bring them a new toy or when we take the time to play
with them?  Or seen a well ferret cuddle to a sick ferret to keep them
warm and give comfort?  Or grief for the loss of a family member (whether
this be by death or being relocated)?  It's not that animals don't have
emotions/feelings, it's that humans don't acknowledge them.  Ferrets do
have emotions, all animals do.
 
But don't take my word on it.  Read what scientists say about animal
emotions.  Here's two paragraphs from an article written by Laura Tangley
from US News and World Report, Oct 30, 2000 - that can be found at:
http://www.saveourstrays.com/feelings.htm
 
"The new case for animal emotions comes in part from the growing
acceptability of field observations, particularly when they are taken
in aggregate.  The latest contribution to this body of knowledge is a
new book, The Smile of a Dolphin, which presents personal reports from
more than 50 researchers who have spent their careers studying animals
from cats, dogs, bears, and chimps to birds, iguanas, and fish.  Edited
by Bekoff, who says it will finally "legitimize" research on animal
emotions, the volume already has garnered scientific attention, including
a Smithsonian Institution symposium on the subject this week."
 
 and
 
"But there's "hard" scientific evidence for animal feelings as well.
Scientists who study the biology of emotions, a field still in its
infancy, are discovering many similarities between the brains of humans
and other animals.  In animals studied so far, including humans, emotions
seem to arise from ancient parts of the brain that are located below the
cortex, regions that have been conserved across many species throughout
evolution."
 
If you are interested, here's another link and there's more links to
check out if you do a search.
http://animal.discovery.com/convergence/animalemotions/interview.html
 
hugs. tle
Troy Lynn Eckart, F.B.S.
Ferret Family Services
http://www.ferretfamilyservices.org
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~sprite/ffs.html
http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Haven/5481/
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[Posted in FML issue 4073]