As part of the Diet 101 fallout, as well as other events, I have been asked
to throw in my two cents regarding breeders and ferret responsibilities.  As
most of you realize, I take both subjects quite seriously, so you don't get
my usual off the cuff wise cracks.
 
The following statement are meant to apply to ferrets, this being the FML
and all, but they could easily apply to any animal, or person, anywhere.
That is because the underlying point of any discussion concerning living and
breathing things is quality of and right to life.  The major stumbling block
is the difference in belief between what I think a domesticated ferret
represents, and what anyone else may think.  I consider owning a ferret
nothing more than being a caretaker, similar in spirit to parenthood.  In
this relationship, the ferret has rights and I have responsibilities towards
the ferret's care and well being.  The opposite viewpoint is taken by those
who see a ferret as property, an object to be bought, traded, bartered or
sold, without any rights save those of the owner.  In that case, the owner
has only the reponsibility to protect their property because of the
associated monetary worth.  Many people on the FML fit into both categories,
with perhaps the more vocal of us in the first category rather than the
second.
 
Breeders follow the same pattern.  I remember growing up on a small farm in
California, and arguing with my father about putting a cat down or trying to
save it from massive injuries.  My dad always allowed me to get my way, and
in retrospect I can see it was also his way, but the debate steeled my will
and taught me valuble lessons.  The lesson was, you cannot own another
living being, you can only care for it the best you can.  By assigning a
value to a ferret, you have degraded it from a living being to an object,
and your responsibility shifts from the creature to your wallet.
 
Breeders can be caught in a bind here.  You may consider yourself a ferret
caretaker, but you have to assign value to the animal.  "Good" ferrets are
assigned higher value, and "bad" ferrets are assigned less value.  The
danger is when an ferret is so "bad" that it is assigned zero value.  To a
caretaker of animals, this is no problem, because the life value is always
high and takes priority over the monetary value.  But many breeders are
*NOT* concerned with anything other than the monetary value of the ferret,
and only temper their actions with it harms their pocketbook.
 
I have personally witnessed such responses.  Last year, I watched a female
kit die of internal injuries and infection, without the breeder making any
attempt to save its life at all.  When I inspected the kit, I recognized
the immediate danger and bluntly told the breeder to take the kit to a vet
immediately or it would die.  I was assured, through tears and anguish,
that they would do so first thing in the morning.  Several days later I
discovered I was duped; there was no attempt at all to help the little kit,
and it died without treatment.  The reason?  The breeder did not have the
funds to pay for the vet visit and it was thought the ferret would die
anyway.  In other words, even if the kit had a chance, it was likely the
illness would prevent it from being a kit with monetary value, so it was not
worth the cost of decent care, and since it would die anyway, not worth the
cost of euthanasia.  This breeder has continued to breed and cause major
harm to ferrets.  (Should anyone wish to pursue the matter, they can email
me privately).
 
Now, with the most sincere and forthright desire *NOT* to start yet another
endless and meaningless Marshall Farms debate, the same *is* true with that
establishment as well.  Ferrets are only cared for so long as they represent
value, and only the minimal care and treatment is provided to those ferrets
which have the prospect of being sold.  This is a form of economic triage,
with ferrets having low value losing their lives because they have little or
no prospect of finding someone looking through the plexiglass and being
overcome by their cute little faces.  Costs are cut and lives are lost, and
no one knows or really cares about the consequences of baby ferrets heading
to the garbage.
 
But ferrets are pets; although we never domesticated them--that occurring
thousands of years ago--we still support that long ago decision by our
"ownership" of the little guys.  With the acceptance of a ferret in our
life, we also accept certain moral and ethical obligations that go with it.
The right to a wholesome and healthy diet, the right to medical care, the
right to clean food and water, the right to clean and safe housing, the
right to fellowship, the right to be a ferret, and the right to be allowed
to live and die with the dignity afforded all living creatures.  If a
breeder fails to grants those rights, even if they see the ferret as
property rather than as living creature, then we, as ferret caretakers,
have to voice our outrage.
 
Breeders who fail to met these minimum standards must be shunned.  They must
not be allowed to participate in ferret events or functions, we must not buy
their products, and, hardest of all, we must not allow a show of sorrow or a
partial change to move us from our demand that full compliance *must* be met
before our sanctions will be lifted.  *ANY* club or ferret organization who
fails in this regard fails us all and especially our ferrets.  Such
organizations are not worthy of our support.
 
Since we lack a unified front to fight for us in this matter, you have to do
it on your own.  Don't buy products from breeders who place their pocketbook
before the welfare of the ferret they are selling.  If you know of a breeder
who harms ferrets, collect the evidence and inform us of the problems
(evidence being real, observed or collected things, not hearsay and rumor).
Let the people involved know *exactly* what the offences are, so they can
learn from their mistakes and correct the problem.  And most of all, we need
to stick together; if not for ourselves, then for the ferrets under our
care.
 
Bob C and 20 MO Ferrets of Inmeasureable Worth
[Posted in FML issue 2351]