ALL MFs who are sold to retail get tats.
PV does not tat. So the ferrets may be from that farm instead, or
another that doesn't tattoo. Distributors sometimes mix "lots" from
multiple farms -- a bad practice.
There have been ferrets bought from horrid small backyard breeders who
didn't have tats or had ones drawn on with magic markers and came from
some pet stores with copied MF papers (maybe 7 to 10 year ago or so and
they were prone to serious problems), so I hope that is not happening
again. It is unethical, is fraud, is a violation of USDA regulations
and many state's pet laws, and it rewards jerks who breed willy nilly
from a very narrow gene pool without proper veterinary or husbandry
care, and without providing socialization so that they can get a quick
buck.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/http://ferrethealth.org/archive/http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.htmlhttp://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/http://www.ferretcongress.org/http://www.trifl.org/index.shtmlhttp://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
[Posted in FML 6068]
