Esther... surely you don't mean to suggest that your contructed 'nature'
area is homologous to a natural ecosystem.  Releasing mice into an enclosure
with no refuges as food is considerably different than what an escaped,
kibble-eating house-ferret would encounter.  It seems the only way this
feral issue will be settled is to radio-tag 100 ferrets and let 'em loose.
Keep track of them and see how long they last and, if possible, what their
fate way (i.e. drowning, starvation, predation, etc).
 
I disagree that altering is a bad thing for ferrets, especially females.
This is comepletely irresponsible considering the homes that many of these
animals go to.  Most people, myself included, are not capable of dealing
with a pregnant jill.  The last thing we is need an explosion of kits coming
from casual OWNERS.  Many have argued that there are too many being bred
already (judging by how many end up in shelters).
 
-Erin...
[Posted in FML issue 2259]