Conclusions and Summary:
 
When it comes to any domesticated animal, the scientist has a suite of
problems that must be resolved in order to determine a plausible sequence
of events that led the creature to a domestic status.  In the past,
efforts have bee marred by a lack of concise understanding of exactly
what "domestication" was; even Charles Darwin assumed there were stages
of domestication, with dogs being completely domesticated, cats not
nearly as much, and ferrets only semi-domesticated.  At that time,
domestication was "scaled" to reflect the attitude of the animal towards
people, so even though an animal might be extremely modified to serve
human needs, if they failed to make the type of emotional attachments
seen between dogs and humans, domestication was not considered complete
or completely successful.
 
Modern domestication theory has benefited greatly from the addition of
species concepts, anthropology and archeology, nuclear dating techniques,
genetics, ethology, and scores of ancillary disciplines.  Today, an
animal is considered domesticated if humans control their breeding, the
animal has some type of demonstrable change because of that breeding
that allows a separation of the domesticated population from the wild
population, and the animal provides some sort of value to humans, such
as companionship, food, leather, or service.  Take any one of these
requirements away, and the animal is not domesticated.
 
This type of simple distinction causes as many problems as it solves; how
do you classify domesticated animals that have returned to a wild state,
such as New Zealand feral ferrets, some dingos and New Guinea singing
dogs, wild pigs, or dozens of other species?  The group I subscribe to
suggest that once the animal's reproduction is no longer under human
control and it is subject to natural selection, and you can find some
way to distinguish the feral population from the other, then it is no
longer domesticated.  Others disagree, suggesting that once an animal
is domesticated, it all always be so because its genetic code has been
manipulated from that of the wild species.
 
The question cuts the opposite direction as well.  How do you classify
hybrids?  I take the not always popular position that they are classified
depending on their situation; if the offspring remain in human control
they are domesticated (domesticated ferrets hybridized with a polecat),
but if they are living in a wild environment they are not (polecats
hybridized with a domesticated ferret).  I am an evolutionist, so I feel
the position clarifies the particular selective pressures, but I admit a
good argument could convince me to abandon the position in favor of a
better one.  Most domestication scientists make little attempt to answer
the question, taking the stance that you can't be wrong if you don't
commit yourself to an opinion.
 
Our domesticated ferrets are absolutely domesticated.  They have
numerous behavioral changes caused by selective human breeding.  Their
reproductive physiology has been altered, so that they not only have more
offspring per litter, but can go into season two or three times a year.
They have coloration changes (dilutions and piebalding) caused by that
same breeding program.  Ferrets have sustained albinisma recessive trait
that in the wild is rapidly eliminated.  Not only is albinism sustained
in ferrets, but also most of the deleterious effects caused by the
inbreeding necessary to "set" the trait have long been bred out; a
process than could take considerable time.  For the ferret, the problem
is not that the ferret is domesticated, but in the answering of the
questions regarding the process.
 
The ultimate truth is that no oneat this point in timecan answer the
who, what, when, where, why, and how questions of ferret domestication.
Any answer, regardless of elucidation or intent, can be more disingenuous
than enlightening if the reader misinterprets what is meant as a
"possible scenario" as a final "this is the way it was done." In
medicine, either human or veterinary, a doctor succeeds until they
ultimately fail and the patient dies.  In science, the scientist fails
until theyor othersultimately succeed, uncovering the truth.  Knowing
this, the reader should have the understanding that they are on a pathway
moving towards enlightenment, and their particular point on the path
shows they have moved forward, but have yet to reach the end.
 
Who domesticated the ferret?  We don't know; but it might have started
with the peoples living in the southeastern portions of southern Europe,
eventually encompassing all peoples throughout southern Europe, perhaps
extending into the extreme western portions of Asia.  What polecat was
domesticated?  We may never know because humans have purposely bred their
ferrets to both polecats (European and steppe), so the ferret is probably
a hybrid of both.  When was the ferret domesticated?  At least 2000 years
ago, and probably as far back as 2500 years ago if the Greek references
accurately describe an animal moving from being considered wild to one
being considered domestic.  Where was the ferret domesticated?
Definitely not in Egypt and probably not in any part of North Africa: it
is likely the ferret was domesticated across a large region of southern
Europe, north, west, and east of present-day Greece.  Why was the ferret
domesticated?  Probably to take the role of a mouser, and as the house
cat was slowly introduced about the same time as the rabbit, that role
was abandoned in favor of the ferret being used as a rabbiter (later,
ratting was added to the list after the introduction of the Norway rat
into central and southern Europe).  How was the ferret domesticated?  It
was probably a relatively quick process with small numbers of breeders
swapping ferrets between themselves, breeding for tameness and courage,
and later, albinism.
 
I have received a number of questions thus far, and will answer those and
any others sent my way during the next week.
 
Bob C   [log in to unmask]
 
Nor how the Apaturian meat We steal to give our panders,
And then declare the house-ferret was there. You nasty telltale, you!
Aristophanes.  411 BC.  The Thesmophoriazusae, Lines 558-559.
[Posted in FML issue 4781]