>Bill wrote:-
>FYI - in the US most ferret shows have evolved away from judging the main
>event or "Championship rings" based on color seperation.  All ferrets in
>the class are judged together.  Classes are kit (under 7 or 6 months),
>alter (spayed or neutered adults) and breeder/adult (uncut adults).
 
In the UK we don't separate the neutered from entire ferrets.  Just how the
heck do you tell if a jill has been spayed?  Some judges (generally male -
have been known to mark down a neutered hob but this practice is dying out
as judges are beginning to realise the sense in neutering) so we get
working, breeding and pet ferrets all in the same class - we are trying to
close the division between working and pet ferret owners, not widen the
gulf:-)
 
>The AFA has dropped any support for handicapped or old timers rings.
>Most older ferrets don't need the stress.  Handicapped rings devolve into
>freak shows where the "most handicapped" wins.
 
My veteran ferrets would be more stressed out if they were left at home,
they regularly do PR work at country shows etc which sometimes entail
several days away from home.  All the ferrets (44 of 'em) are loaded into
the back of the Land Rover - the rest of the gear: play pens, food, litter,
clean bedding, racing pipes etc.  goes in the trailer.  We stop every 40
miles or so (the Land Rover is 44 y.o.  and we only travel at around 40 - 45
mph) to give the ferrets a break and a drink of water.  If we left the old
'uns at home there wouldn't be anyone to look after them, besides which my
old lad got a first in Veteran Hob.
 
I hadn't exactly noticed that our Personality/Disabled classes had reached
the freak show stage.  The ferret that came third in the hob class at the
National Ferret Fair had part of an ear missing - hardly a crippling
disability, I don't know about the 1st and 2nd.  My two P/D didn't get
placed, one had a dislocated hip and the other had cataracts on both eyes.
 
At NFWS shows the ferrets are taken from the owner by the steward, the judge
has no idea who the ferret belongs to, handed to the judge who examines the
ferret, the steward returns the ferret to the owner.  The whole process
probably takes around 5 mins.
 
I recently judged an outdoor show where all the ferrets were brought into
the ring by the owners, I can't say that I liked this method of judging.
Much easier to sit down at a table an mark a score sheet.  The organisers of
the show were more into dog shows and were treating the ferrets like dogs
and it just didn't work!  There was no where I could put a ferret down to
check stance and movement - the ferret would have no doubt shot off into a
patch of long grass or disappeared down a hole!
 
Sheila
Bolton Ferret Welfare & National Ferret Welfare Society Newsletter Editor
http://www.btinternet.com/~sheila/ferrets.htm (Last Update 10 May, 1998)
Waiting at Rainbow Bridge: Jill, Deanna Troi & Cameron
[Posted in FML issue 2324]