Debbie, I'm sorry you feel that breeding is such a sin.  That you feel
small-time breeders should give up doing something they love, which helps
the ferret community as a whole.  I'm even more sorry that other people
believe, as you do, that breeding is the root of all these problems.
 
Yes, there's a problem out there.  There are ferrets in shelters, homeless
ferrets; being beaten, starved, neglected and all of the above.  There are
also ferrets being loved, cared for and spoiled.  Why blame everything on
the breeders?
 
Large breeders, such as Marshall Farms, Path Valley, Hagen (and more) breed
for money.  That's their interest.  Small breeders are in it for the love
of the animals.  They lose more than they make.
 
Mary questioned the price of my food for the time from when they're
conceived until they're thirteen weeks of age.  I hate to say it, but if
anything, I downplayed the price.  Food here is exhorbitant, unless I want
a low quality food which will endanger my breeding animals and kits.  I
would sincerely *love* to pay the same price for food as people do in the
US.  I'd rather pay the prices than risk the health of my animals.
 
Breeding is only something to be 'guilty' of if you go into it blind and
cause the death of animals because of ignorance, or if you breed animals
without caring for them as they *require*.  All of my kits have gone to
good homes, and many of them, I get consistent reports on by their new
owners.
 
You ask why we breed if we don't make money... you know it's hard to
describe.  Part of it is the sheer miracle of birth.  Seeing the newborn
kits as the jill licks them clean, hearing their first plaintive squeaks...
seeing the first crack of an eye as it prepares to open, looking at the
sheer disgust in the mothers face as she looks at her litter bathing in
their first meal of warm mush.
 
Why else do I breed?  I like to see big, strong, healthy ferrets available
out there.  There are genetic conditions out there which can only be
eradicated by people who *care* enough to specifically breed for healthy,
strong animals.  I like to think that my animals are, on the whole, healthy
animals.  One of my kits last year was weighed in at 3.6lbs at 14 weeks of
age, and in his first winter weighed 7.6 lbs.  My jills average at 2.5lbs
in the summer weights, my smallest being 2lbs and heaviest a little over
3lbs.  Although these weights are not huge, they're still a reasonable
size, IMO.
 
You say you've received over 100 emails saying they agree with you.  To
me, that's over 100 people who don't truly understand and who *need* to
understand just what they're asking for if there is no more breeding.
First, no more breeding at all would mean in five to ten years there would
be *no more ferrets*.  Or second, breeding farms would no longer have the
competition of breeders who care about what they're doing, so the quality
of animals becomes less.  The price of ferrets will go up as demand rises
all because people cannot get them from anywhere except the pet stores.
The level of genetic diseases in ferrets would go up, because the 'fad'
animals will be bred for, with no care as to whether they have heart
conditions, if they're blind, deaf, missing limbs, have additional toes,
tails or more...
 
You suggested a 'stop breeding' season.  One year where no-one breeds.  I
can picture the results now.  Jills dying from aplastic anaemia, because
some breeders 'stopped breeding' and didn't have the v-hob available, or
the shots available, for the jill.  This is not an immediate death
sentence, by any means, but left with a whole jill who is in season, if the
shots don't work (and they may not) and there's no v-hob, suddenly, you
have jills who are dying because they have not been bred.  You're right, it
would lower the number of ferrets out there.
 
Many breeders, as a matter of interest, do help rescue others, and all good
breeders should be willing to take back their own animals, regardless, or
find them a home who can care for them if something goes wrong in the home
they started in.  We do this because of love for the animals.  I, at least,
don't feel I have to do retribution for some imagined sin.  At least I do
my best for my kits and make attempts at seeing that they go to GOOD,
loving homes, unlike a majority of pet stores and larger breeders.  Most
small breeders do care, and I suspect they too are insulted by the fact
that you think we need to pay retribution for doing our best to help
others.  You want to help?  Help any way you can.  That's what we are
doing.
 
Debbie, I would suggest first thinking about the long term of what results
will happen from your suggestions.  Sure, it sounds good in the short term.
Look, less ferret babies!  But less privately bred means the larger farms
will start breeding more to keep up with demand.  This is *not*, I suspect,
what you want.
 
If you have a problem, don't blame the small time breeders, people who have
invested their time, effort, love, sweat, laughter and tears in their
animals.  If you have a problem with the number of ferrets out there, start
educating people about how ferrets really are.  Tell people about potential
diseases, put the word out in your area talking about how they're wonderful
creatures, but not for everyone.  Explain the time and effort required in
keeping them.  THAT is the only thing that will help.  Not blaming the
people ho are trying their best to make things better for people like you,
who enjoy the gift of ferret ownership.
 
Education is the key, not placing blame on anyone's shoulders.
Educate the old, new, and potential ferret owners.
 
Sam
[Posted in FML issue 2792]