Danielle skeptically wrote:
>Also, with all the bad rap that Marshall Farms gets, why on earth would
>"faking" an MF ferret make it more appealing?  A true head-scratcher.
>
>The mystery continues....
 
How many people that buy ferrets from pet stores are on the FML or go on
the internet to research it?  Especially if it is a new ferret owner, I am
sure this list is a small sampling of the overall ferret owner population.
In the general public MF is highly respected, in fact, the last time I went
to a pet store they had two ferrets, one was MF with papers and they were
charging more than the other just because of that.  Bragging about the
fact that this ferret is a MF ferret- (well the other one was too, but was
turned in by someone without papers )  Their reputation in general I bet is
still pretty good, and the guarantee is appealing to a new pet owner.  And
since it is most likely a "backyard" breeder type that is doing this, and
not another large farm or reputable breeder, they need the MF name to sell
their ferrets.
 
It isn't so mysterious to me, just don't know how you could prove it.  I
have a few rescues and don't even look that closely at their ears, and
since they don't come with papers who knows where they are really from or
their background.  The only way to prove anything is to see a faked
guarantee as well, what good is calling MF that you have some ferrets that
have odd looking tatoos in their ears, and they may be MF imposters.  Don't
see how that helps anyone, unless they can be traced to a certain breeder
or pet store and have proof that they were sold as MF ferrets.
 
Patty
[Posted in FML issue 3533]