Someone wanted to know why us boycotters could boycott a direct buy from MF
and then take in a rescue.  For me its that gray area between trying not to
support any large farm or bad breeder's practices balanced with not taking
it out on the ferrets who are innocent victims.  If someone buys an MF,
other large farm or "bad" backyard ferret someone has supported them but its
not me.  But taking in a shelter ferret or some other second hand means at
least I am not supporting them directly.  I have definite opinions and
beliefs but try to temper them to the circumstances as life is usually not
black and white.  I certainly also support trying to get large farms and bad
breeders and pet stores to change their ways wherever ferrets are living
sh**ty lives although it seems very hard.  Meanwhile I try muddle my way
through supporting my beliefs as best as I can.  I have a question too.  Why
is it so hard to find out what exactly places like MF do?  They seem very
secretive, since no one seems to know whether or not they've introduced
European bloodlines etc.  etc.  By the way, the discourse on breeding, kits,
and tracing bad traits seemed to make a lot of sense.
 
Jeff - I had not even heard of those other organizations, why is it always
USDA that seems to be involved?  By the way, the inspector I talked to
seemed very nice, just not very...how do I put it...I don't know, she was
there to check on conditions but didn't notice whether they had bedding or
not in an unheated barn in January?  Or food?  She didn't seem to get past
the unfrozen water bottles ("well I was impressed by.."), but she also
couldn't say for sure whether ALL the cages even had water bottles (they
didn't when I was there).  She was nice enough to go out there and check
when technically she didn't have to since he didn't have a USDA license, but
her follow through was a little lacking I guess.
 
Does anyone ever eat Nilla Wafers?  Mine LOVE to carry them off.  Boris will
fight me frantically to get into a box.  Still no interest in raisens
though.  A couple of observations about food.  I mix in a little QC+ which
is billed as chicken and brown rice.  First 4 ingred are chicken, chicken
by-products, CORN, rice.  I caught Giesela eating some critter corn that had
dropped on the floor (got that all cleaned up fast) so they seem like corn.
Also Giesela is always fascinated by the bottle of fish emulsion fertilizer
I use to fertilizer roses etc.  Plus she shows interested in the jar of
herring I eat sometimes.  So some ferrets at least like fish.  I mix a
little Iams Ocean Fish and rice in with their TF too.  About 2/3's TF and
1/3 the other two.
 
Some people seem upset with the food discussion and MF discussion.
Hmmm....maybe I have a thicker skin from working in Fighter Squadron (now
those guys can get direct!).  I didn't even notice or think the food
discussion was heated at all, the MF discussion maybe a little but not out
of line.  We all learn from it I think as discussion generally calls out
opinions we hadn't considered.
 
Today I had Giesela outside for her 20 or so minutes.  She was digging at a
brick by the house when I noticed a mole come out from the otherside.  I
didn't even know I had moles.  Anyway the mole got clean away while she was
still digging away at the brick.  She then chased a squirrel (no hope there
either or I wouldn't let her) and then she dug away at a newly found ground
squirrel hole.  I pulled her away from that one as her tail got all puffed -
I didn't want her to get her nose bit!  Her smell all over the yard doesn't
seem to have deterred the chipmunks, ground squirrels, regular squirrels or
moles one bit!  One last thing - how do you walk your ferrets?  Mine puff
all up in open spaces and run like mad for the nearest house, bush or tree
line.  We just wander from cover to cover.  I don't think I could "walk"
them just anwhere.
 
Dooks to all,
Mary, Boris and Giesela
[Posted in FML issue 1702]