Q: "I doubt if anyone knows more about the history of ferrets than
you....On the FML, [a post] claimed PETA has a video of rodents being
thrown in pits filled with ferrets.  Did anything like that ever happen?"
 
A: When you are old as I am, history is called "memories."  I guess I
just have a lot of memories.
 
Rat coursing was the practice of releasing rats, then allowing dogs
to run them down while proper Victorian gentlemen wagered on which dog
would kill the most in the shortest amount of time.  Rat pitting was the
practice of putting a dog or ferret into a pit filled with rats, then
counting the number of rats killed in a specific length of time.  Mice
and moles were rarely used, but rats were considered a public health
hazard (as they were at the time), and were the rodent of choice for
these events.  Rabbits were too valuable as food to allow dogs to tear
them to pieces.  Pitting was so common, we still say "one man was pitted
against the other."
 
Dogs were far more popular in this endeavor because ferrets tended to be
wounded or killed during the event.  Dog or ferret, the large number of
prey species confined within the small pit would cause maximum triggering
of the killing reflex, insuring a bloody show for the spectators.  The
pit was usually circular with a flat bottom, insuring rats had no place
to hide.  Usually in those circumstances, the rat defensive strategy is
to flee, running in circles around the edge of the pit looking for a
means of escape.  This would reduce the dogs' and ferrets' risk of
serious injury.  Still ferrets were commonly killed or blinded by rat
bite, and a seriously wounded ferret would usually die of infection
within a few days.  Similar to bull-baiting, cock-fighting, or dog
fighting (which also took place in pits), such events are now outlawed.
If PETA has a video of rat pitting, it was probably obtained under the
freedom of information act from some police agency, or illegally staged.
The crime here is that PETA is probably showing video used to prosecute
criminal activity, and implying it is a sactioned or common event.
PETA's use of the video to outlaw ferrets is like showing a tape of jets
crashing into the twin towers to outlaw airlines.
 
My views on PETA were tainted years ago when I visited an information
booth, half intending to join.  The brochures had graphic images of
tortured monkeys, but I recognized some of the photos from a book on Nazi
and Japanese medical experientation during WWII.  The brochures didn't
imply the same things were happening in the USA, they outright said the
photos were taken at UC Davis and UCLA!  I still have the brochures AND
the book; I know they are liars.
 
I have a lot of faults, and I happily admit them, but a lack of ethics
is not one of them.  I abhor the idea that the means justify the end,
so often suggested by those sardonic demigogs among us who insist that
if you refuse to think exactly like they do, then you need to play in
some other cat box.  I actively oppose PETA, not because they are against
ferrets, or dislike the concept of domesticated animals; everyone should
have freedom of choice in the matter.  I spit my heart's last breath at
them because they are liars, bullies, thought police, and support
terrorism.  If you know they are wrong and you don't resist them, then
you become the good German businessman ignoring the ash from the
smokestacks, or the dignified southern belle walking past the hanging
tree, ignoring it's dark, bloated fruit.  And as for the idea that the
means justify the ends?  The Church thought they were saving human souls
when they arrested Galileo.  They were wrong, and for centuries the world
has pointed a finger in their direction for the decision.  You can be a
Aristolean Pope trying to save souls, a misunderestimated politican
trying to win an election, a dupicitous yahoo in a ferret discussion
group trying to save face, or concerned PETA yearning to save animals,
if the actions are unethical or immoral, THEY NEED TO BE RESISTED!  And
let me tell you something about history.  It's NEVER about the faith, or
the good of the country, or good information, or the welfare of the
animals.  It is ALWAYS about POWER.
 
Bob C
[Posted in FML issue 4073]