Kat--
That is the dilemma that any animal lover faces in situations like these.
Yes there are animals there that in my opinion have miserable lives and I
would love to see them have a better life.  However, I believe it is a
mistake to think that if enough folks were buying these ferrets that they
would all be rescued and the breeder would shut down.  She continues to
breed, and if she finds that dollars are coming in from it, where is the
incentive to stop?  I cannot refer buyers to her in good conscience.  I did
once try to obtain a cage full of obviously sick, bleeding, unfed kits from
her and offered an alternative that I would pay for their vet treatment
instead without success.  This sounds cold, but I have come to feel about
that operation as I once heard a vet say about an out-of-control shelter...
I'd rather see every animal (ferret) in the place die rather than see the
situation perpetuated.  There may be 150+ ferrets suffering today, but each
new litter that is bred increases the end number of ferrets that will have
sufferered there.
 
You will notice also that I didn't tell the interested person not to get a
ferret there, but to be aware of what they may very likely find.  I know
that others will feel that buying a ferret and getting it out of there is
worthwhile.  I just see it as paying for the misery of the others.  (Note
that I have paid for a sick, neglected ferret before to get it away from an
individual, but then there were no others to continue to suffer.) Everyone
has to look with open eyes and make the decision for themselves.  One other
thing potential buyers should watch for that I forgot yesterday is that
many of the ferrets are biters.  Watch the woman as she takes a ferret from
a cage.  She usually sticks a tube of nutrical or similar in the cage door
ahead of her hand and waits for the ferret to start licking before
attempting to touch it.  In her defense, I have known one person who got a
ferret from her years ago who was generally pleased with it (it was not one
of the ones with the odd body shape) and didn't see as nasty conditions as
others did, but that was quite some time before the people who complained
made their visits.  We can hope someone will visit and find things changed
again, this time for the better.
 
Debra
[Posted in FML issue 2800]