A few people have suggested that MF should raise its prices in order to
discourage impulse buys (or that we'd like to see MF raise its prices for
that reason), and that it would be just fine if prices went up as a result
of new tracking systems instituted by MF.  I don't want to sound like a
pessimist and make things unnecessarily complex, but it seems to me that if
ferrets suddenly began to cost several hundred dollars instead of one or two
hundred dollars, that might encourage more of the unethical sorts of
backyard breeders to get into ferrets.  I'm not entirely sure myself what my
point is here, unless it's that it's important to remember that MF doesn't
exist in a vaccuum.  Inexpensive ferrets won't disappear just because MF
stops producing them, and I know we'd all hate to see more Freedonias.
 
I've been on this list for a couple of years now, and I know that MF topics
come and go like the seasons here, but I think that this time things are a
little different.  I hope that if we can keep our collective cools, we will
be able to open fresh dialogues with MF and take this opportunity to create
new industry standards through the example of MF, with the health and
well-being of the ferrets first and foremost.  See, I'm not really a
pessimist after all :) As a former union negotiator, I'm a big believer in
rational discourse as a means of achieving your goals; in other words, you
catch more flies with honey than vinegar.  So I hope that we can keep
talking and make a real difference.
 
Peace out,
Regina, Cully and Amelia
[Posted in FML issue 2005]