First of all, Tanya, I'm not flaming you, just presenting a different
opinion.  I do agree with you on several points you made.
 
>In my opinion showing is it's own form of animal abuse and simply an
>owners own ego.
 
I can see your point on this, and I do agree that some owners can take
showing *way* too seriously, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that
showing an animal automatically equates to abusing the animal.  I showed
one of my ferrets at the Georgia Ferret Association's show in 1999, and
though it was the first ferret show I'd attended and I had no idea what to
expect, I was very pleased with the atmosphere at the show.  Personally, I
saw no egos at that show at all...the "competition" seemed all in fun to
the participants involved.  In fact, before I showed the boy I had brought,
I had some of the "competition" tell me that he ought to win...not very
competitive, eh? :)
 
As for the ferrets themselves, they seemed to enjoy the attention.  The
boy I brought is a big sweetie who just loves people, so he really enjoyed
getting to meet all the new people and having them make a fuss over him.
I will say, though, that if I had a ferret who was skittish of strangers
or who didn't have a very outgoing personality, I wouldn't bring that
particular ferret to a show because the ferret would be stressed by it.
 
>Now getting back to the FML and postings.  I find it offensive that the
>breeders on the board continuously bash one another when I feel they're
>all guilty animal abuse.  We all have our own opinions of what's
>considered a *beautiful/gorgeous/perfect* ferret.  But to me the
>*beautiful/gorgeous/perfect* ferret is the one that is healthy, happy, and
>well cared for.  I think we should all rethink our actions and motives.
>If you're going to be a breeder than breed, but don't go around defaming
>all other breeders because they do not conform to "your" standards.
 
From what I've seen, most of the breeders on the list are in agreement with
your idea of the "perfect" ferret.  Most of the postings from breeders
lately have been criticizing the practices of breeders who breed for looks
over health.  Yes, some disagreements between breeders have gotten to the
ugly point, but in this case, where breeders are pointing out the problems
in emphasizing the physical beauty of an animal over its health, I don't
think it's fair to say that those breeders are defaming other breeders
because they don't conform to their standards...they're pointing out a
problem that could be potentially risky to ferrets.  In my opinion,
responsible breeders *should* point out the problems in such practices,
although I do think that it's possible to do that in a manner that isn't
an attack.
 
Dooks,
Lisa
Mom of Zorro, Claudia, Loki, Fezzik, Crysin, and Kyra Monchichi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you're hurtling towards a brick wall at terminal velocity and there's
absolutely no way to bail...at least make sure the ride's memorable.
             --Ishmaela
[Posted in FML issue 3212]