Sam wrote:
>Have you been to that ferret farm and seen what it's really like?  If not,
>how do you know what it's like there?  I'll admit, I've never been there
 
First - as I said previously, I'm not into the specifics of this, or any
particular incident, nor was I commenting on animal rights tactics etc.
(anything said on the internet is basically second hand, and if you haven't
seen it yourself then its third hand and I don't pay strict attention)
However your comments were very broadly condeming of any such intervention
where the animals would die, and that's what I was commenting on.  My point
- singularly and specifically was that there are times when death is more
humane, even a hard death, if it saves years of suffering.  And thats all
I was trying to say!
 
Sam wrote:
>If everyone thought like the WA DC Humane Society, it would be illegal to
>keep any animals and also illegal to have children.  There will be
>abuse/neglect with any type of animal, be it ferret, cat, dog, horse, or
>*child* (including children in the general group so as to make a point
>here) The DC Humane Society evidently doesn't want ferrets, and it's found
>an excuse which is pretty hard to complain about.  Personally, I'd rather
>just punish the twits who do the abuse/neglect, rather than punish everyone
>and not allow anyone to have ferrets at all.
 
As for D.C.  Yes I too would like to punish abusers rather than have laws
that punish the responsible as well as the criminal.  But wishing doesn't
really help the animals, and since that doesn't seem to be happening I see
nothing wrong in their response.  In the quote I read they said they did
not know how they would respond to actions towards legalization.  They
sounded concerned - since they are going to be the ones involved in rescue
I think they have a right to think about it.  They have to put thousands
of good dogs and cats to death every year - give them the benefit of the
doubt - they don't want ferrets to suffer is all.  Basically my life is
enriched by animal companionship, but I'd certainly survive without it.
So when I'm thinking about things relating to companion animal welfare
(dog, cat, ferret whatever) whatever is best for them in the BIG picture is
what I try to consider.  There's no room to be selfish here.  If of course
you can come up with a way to keep ferrets out of irresponsible homes I'm
sure they'd be glad to hear it.  Maybe they'll consider something like
legalization with education or a waiting period - who knows?  Personally
I don't think companion animals or children should be illegal - but I do
think they should be harder to get (not necessarily more expensive) and
fewer about.  (And I absolutely think all non domesticated animals should
be illegal in anything but a well regulated zoo or licensed rehab - no
exceptions) That allows for the resources available to "punish the twits
who abuse" which is pretty hard to do when theres so much of it happening.
A side note - I love ferrets but I don't try to convince everyone else
to.  I think breeding has a tendency to do that - sort of like pyramid
marketing.  Sam wrote: It's his livelyhood.He makes money from it, and
sees his ferrets as a commodity rather than as the pets we regard them as
 
IMHO one of the top 5 rules of companion animal breeding - never breed
more than you can take back.  I.e. if you breed and give away or sell the
babies you should be prepared to taken back those babies/adults and rehome
them if necessary.  No one else should have to rescue and deal with a
breeders stock.  Any breeding operation of companion animals that is larger
than that is breeding companion animals for profit and I have problem with
that period.  It doesn't matter if they are well watered and fed.
 
Raise them like livestock and people will treat them like livestock.  And
that's just wrong regardless.  If someone sees a problem with that and
supports large breeders then I'm assuming that raising ferrets for fur etc.
is ok too.This isn't directly at you Sam, I'm speaking generally to those
that think large breeding operations are ok but get upset when someone
sells a stuffed ferret on Ebay - you can't have it both ways.
 
Mary
P.S.  Ever notice that rescue is more often done by "just pet people"?
There are breeders who rescue and I admire that (I would never recommend
anyone to a breeder who didn't).  But more often than not - its us non
breeders and the animals dealing with all the hearthache.
[Posted in FML issue 3128]