Peter, you are forgetting that the very domestic breeding situations
you mention have resulted in reduced lifespans for many and in common
specific breed medical problems.  For example, in general mutts are
healthier and live longer.  Some ferret breeders have already begun
taking ferrets down that path to reduced health, reduced lifespans,
increased handicaps, and increased infant mortality.  Having a fancy
appearance is NOT worth any of those results.
 
I've seen a number of the ferrets with problems from directed breeding
for appearance, and in the past when we could cope with the high
related expenses much better my husband and I took in some of the ones
who needed special care as a result.  (In fact, one of them required 6
surgeries and was able to get 6 years before one of his GI malformations
which could be corrected no further killed him; he was our almost $12,000
"free" ferret and he was completely worth the care.)
 
Bob did a bang-up job with that post.  He was right on the money that
when people breed for appearance instead of health, longevity, and
behavior they cause problems for ferrets.  That is just what happened
in way too many domestic breeds to the point where people even
considered what are actually halved lifetimes in some cases to be
"normal", or some medical problems to be "normal" just because they are
"breed-normal".
 
Why repeat mistakes just because they happened with other animals?
 
There are those who will say that just because breeding for appearance
is what too many breeders have done for the last 15+ years that it
should be continued.  They will say, "These ferrets are pretty, so why
change our path?"  It the path you are on will take those you love and
you over a cliff then it makes sense to change the path.  That is the
situation here.
 
If you want to read more on the medical problems associated with too
many breeding programs in ferrets I advise reading past conversations
in these three sites:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Genetics/
http://listserv.cuny.edu/archives/ferret-search.html
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/
 
People here love ferrets.  It is not consistent with love to take
actions that will hurt as many as breeding for appearance alone does.
 
That said, I want to applaud those breeders who are setting the newer
direction by keeping careful and very complete health and longevity
records (no fair leaving off sick siblings and such), breeding for a
combination of factors -- with health, longevity and behavior in the
forefront -- and making their health and longevity records available to
potential purchasers.  There really are breeders who are doing this sort
of thing and they have earned everyone's trust.  (Yes, there will still
be variation and not all of it will be good, but the chances of health
and long life are greatly increased.)
[Posted in FML issue 4678]