Danielle mentioned it being difficult to find information on the USDA
website.  It was a little difficult, but here is some good info:
 
Here is the Animal Welfare Act:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislat/awa.htm
 
It unfortunately does not contain specific regulations, only that the
"Secretary" shall make such regulations, and in what ways such regulations
shall be enforced.
 
This is an annually updated publication detailing the actual regulations
alluded to in the Animal Welfare Act:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/publications.html
 
Unfortunately, within the definitions of said regulations, ferrets are not
mentioned.  "Pet Animal" excludes "exotic or wild animals."  No definition
is listed for "exotic animals" and "Wild animals include only animals
which occur naturally in the wild within the bounds of the US.  It would
be necessary to determine whether the agency in charge here considers
ferrets an "exotic", which we know many state agencies do.  I will assume
they ARE considered "exotics".
 
The "Regulations" section seems mostly to pertain to dogs and cats.  I
only skimmed it.
 
The "Standards" section is not very well explained.  Items 3:1 to 3:19
pertain only to dogs and cats.  3:25 to 3:41 pertain to guinea pigs and
hamsters.  3:50 to 3:66 pertain to rabbits.  3:75 to 3:92 pertain to
non-human primates.  3:100 to 3:118 pertain to marine mammals.  3:125 to
3:142 seem to be somewhat general, or at least, no specific animal is
specified.  However, I believe they may be referring to "farm animals
used for non-agricultural purposes."
 
However, the publications page contains quite a few useful links, and
it is worth looking over.  Since getting a new hard drive, I haven't
reinstalled Adobe Acrobat, so there are several .pdf files I didn't take
a look at, including a document containing the names of all facilities
liscensed as "Class A Dealers" which I believe, according to the act,
would include Marshall Farms.
 
On several of the pages, it lists an address:
Regulatory Enforcement and Animal Care
APHIS, USDA
4700 River Road, Unit 84
Riverdale, Maryland 20737
I believe you could get the specifics of regulations pertaining to ferret
farms from this source.
 
Hope this helps.
 
Melissa Barnes
Mira, Tasha, Robin, Samuri, Nietzsche and O'Dell
[Posted in FML issue 3633]