>Could someone please explain to me why some people that run shelters also
>breed ferrets? ... You have ferrets in shelters because of the over
>abundance of population and for other reasons as well so why breed?
 
Just wanted to add my two cents worth of an answer to this one.  I was
formerly both a breeder and a shelter in Michigan before moving to
Washington and placing all my ferts but two that came with me.  For me (and
I know that it's a different story for others), I was a breeder first, then
realized the need for shelters and expanded to fulfill a need.  It's both
frustrating and rewarding to run a shelter, but it's not all fun and games
(as I know others will agree with me).  I was breeding to try and improve
ferrets in general, breeding for longevitiy, lack of genetic diseases and so
forth.  I never felt like I was adding to the over-population problem, as I
would keep any ferret I was unable to place (I ran a no-kill facility....if
no one else wanted them, they still had a home).  Even having to place
almost a 100 ferrets before moving, only a small handful went to a shelter.
One VERY generous, patient soul in Texas agreed to take 6 of my worse biting
cases that I had in my shelter to rehab them.  All the others went directly
into loving homes.  So the moral is, don't judge someone for what they do on
the surface (i.e. both breeding and running a shelter) without looking at
the reasons for both.  To me, I think it's deplorable that not ALL breeders
have at least somewhat of a shelter policy, taking in unwanted ferrets.
 
All this is just my opinion, no flames please, you're entitled to yours as
well. :)
 
Tracy, Cooter and Talyn
 
PS: I never bred shelter ferrets, if they came in whole, they were altered
before placement.
[Posted in FML issue 2312]