First - LISA's Post - HEAR HEAR!   I agree.  I only have 2 things to add (1)
I don't need a lot of statistical/scientific babble (stats can be made to
say anything and scientists have been known to be wrong) to tell me that
what MF does is.....not very nice.  Regardless of arguments about closed
colony breeding, personal feedligns about breeding for research yay or nay
etc.,  those breeders spend their whole life in a cage being kept in heat by
artificial lighting etc. because all big business is bottom line - THE BIG
BUCK which is I think is inappropriate for animals and animal lovers. Also
common sense, while subjective, has just a big an input as statistics and
scientific babble (2)  That does not mean that the ferrets are to blame or
bad, they are just victims to my mind and I would certainly pay for one
second hand or take one from a shelter though I would try not to support MF
by buying from a pet store.
 
Keleen - since you seem to be having a small run on semi tame minks in your
area I wonder if there is a mink farm nearby or a person who is into exotics
somehow and they are getting loose or being let go?
 
Has anyone ever noticed their ferret, when playing, drag something backwards
for aways inbetween their paws?  Giesela will take a small sock or used
dryer sheets (she seems to like these for some reason) and after wiggling
around with them on her back with them between her forefeet and kicking them
with her back, right herself, postion the item between her paws and scootch
backwards with the the item between her forepaws.  It'd be easier to carry
it in her mouth but she doesn't.  She is my toy "killer", shakes small toys
very hard, twists and rolls when she has a toy on a string and is very big
on digging at the mouth of ground squirrel holes in the yard.  Boris does
none of this.  Odd how they can be so different isn't it?  Of course Boris
has his quirks like only nipping men's feet.  Makes me really popular:)
 
Dooks to all, Mary, Boris and Giesela
P.S.  The IRC ferret channel (on Undernet) usually has 3-5 of us - come
visit! The moderator LuCy is very nice!
[Posted in FML issue 1693]