Georgette asked:
>I commented that I thought fitches were bred for hunting not their fur
>(clarification here anyone???  Is this in North America or in Europe or
>both??).  She told me that they are widely bred for their coat and that
>the fur is more expensive than mink (??!).
 
Hi Georgette :o)
 
Sad to say this... but fitch is bred for the fur.  In talking with some
fitch farmers in New Zealand earlier this year, I was astounded at the sizes
of the animals this person was talking about!  He was talking about a pelt
(sorry for those that don't want to hear this) that he had kept of a hob.
This guy is apparently 6 ft tall.  When he puts the 'nose' at his belt
buckle, the tail is touching the floor easily.  In other words, this guy is
looking at an ENORMOUS ferret.  When I see L'il Bear, who at 14 weeks was
three pounds and 22 inches from nose to tail tip, all I need to do to keep
his size in perspective is think of the ferret that pelt originally came
from.
 
From my knowledge, fitch ferret fur is a LOT cheaper than mink.  The quality
of fur is a lot lower than that of a mink, and therefore, goes for a lower
price.  If this person paid more than a mink coat for her fitch fur... then
you'd be right, IMO - she was ripped off.  I know that *I* have a sick sense
of humour, but there's no way on earth I could EVER wear a fitch fur coat.
Okay, I have been known to wear a big badge written in German which roughly
translated means "Eat more dead rats" while walking through town with a rat
on my shoulder ;o) but I don't wear rat skins!!
 
As a matter of interest, the fitch farms here have all (to my knowledge)
closed down now, since the price of fitch fur dropped so much it wasn't
worth the money they spent on feeding/breeding them to sell them.  Still...
I'd love to get my hands on the feeding regimen of those fitch ferrets -
just the thought of having a ferret the size of the one described to me
still astounds me... It'd be like ... <g> owning you're own domesticated
wolverine ;o)
 
 Sam
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To see the unusual Mustela furo multicephalus drop in to
http://users.1st.net/hammock/ferrets/mltcphls.htm
[Posted in FML issue 2291]