Commom names have a way of confusing people and politicians, so,
shouldn't we be calling the animal with the scientific name Mustela
nigripes a Black footed polecat.  Mustela nigripes is NOT a domesticated,
human oriented animal, so why do we call it a " ferret' ?  We need to
keep the word ferret just for the friendly, human dependant guys we are
so obsessed with, and use the polecat for the wild animal, because we
all know how easely confussed politicians can be.In Europe , ferret only
means the domesticated animal, and polecat means the wild guy.  I have a
T-shirt that I got in South Dakota that has a picture of a Black footed
POLECAT , and it has the caption Black footed ferret:Making a comeback.
A friend saw this, one day and asked me " What's the difference between a
Black footed ferret, and a regular ferret?' If the shirt had said Black
footed polecat, he'd never have to ask,and politicians would have one
less flimsy excuse.
 
Wayne
[Posted in FML issue 5217]