>I really don't understand why there is so many negative things being said
>about MF.  I will probably anger some people but they don't appear to be
>some sort of monster to me.  They may sell ferret that are deamed too young.
>But these ferrets are not shipped back to MF they are bought.... Since MF
>is still selling ferrets why should they change any of thier policies?
 
Just because a company may be making a profit doesn't mean that their
practices are acceptable, especially when you consider that the "product"
MF sells is not an inanimate object, but a living, breathing creature.
Shipping a kit at too young an age can cause health problems for the kit,
either now or in the future, due to several factors.  First of all, it's
best for any baby to stay on its mother's milk for as long as possible, and
some of the kits being shipped don't even have the teeth to cope with hard
foods yet.  So not only are they missing the health benefits they would get
from mother's milk, they have a hard time taking the nourishment they're
given.  Second, early shipping in MF's case means early
neutering/descenting, which can also cause health problems for the kit.
There are other MF policies that I find disturbing, but since the only ones
raised in your letter were the early ages at shipping, I won't list them...
most longtime FMLers already know what they are.
 
>If it were not for MF many of us would not have any ferrets.  Shelters many
>times have waiting lists and SOME of them ask questions that are extreemly
>personal and I feel unnessecary.  Since unless, these shelters have a degree
>in human behavior, they can adopt out ferrets to the wrong person just
>because this person fit thier proflile.I think the shelters that request
>extreemly personal info like income, work hours, marital status, type of
>dwelling you live in, ect should also be subjected to the same type of
>questons by the potential adoptee!...
 
"-Justify- these questions?"...do you think people start ferret shelters
just so they can ask people personal questions?  Those questions -are- for
the well-being of the ferrets, not to satisfy the curiosity of the shelter
moms and dads.
 
>... I've been told that all shelters don't ask for this type of info, but
>some do.  In this day and age with society the way it is , I am sure many
>people including my self don't want to release personal info to just any
>one.  This may be another reason why people would rather buy that cute,
>adorable ,young ferret from the pet store...
 
Which is one reason why there will continue to be a need for shelters...
because it's so easy for any person off the street to buy a pet from a store
and then decide down the line that they don't want it anymore.  The shelters
are trying to make sure that these ferrets find -permanent- homes, which is
why they ask these questions.  I'm not saying they don't make mistakes in
placement sometimes, or that every shelter is perfect, but most shelters
take a responsible approach.  Don't forget, unlike pet stores, shelters
aren't doing what they're doing for money...they're doing it to help
ferrets.
 
Lisa
 
Mom of Zorro, Claudia, and Loki
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
"Science is a way of talking about the universe in words that bind it to
a common reality. Magic is a method of talking to the universe in words
that it cannot ignore."
                --The Stranger
                in Neil Gaiman's _The Books of Magic_
[Posted in FML issue 2292]