My, My, I must be getting brave.  After lurking for so long i've actually
posted several times...Wow.
 
I think we're taking teh exotic thing a bit too seriosly>  We know very well
ferrets are not wild and havn't been in a while, and so do most ppl.  Those
who don't surely need education, but i don't think the classification of the
animal makes such a difference.  Sugar Gliders and McCaws ARE newly
domesticate/often wild caught (respectivly) but for veterinary purposes, and
the animal "trade" in general may animals are considered exotic...even
gerbils, hamsters, rats and mice.  Ever try to find a vet that would treat a
rat?!?  "I'm sorry we don't treat exotics".
 
Basically I think that exotic happends when teh pet industtry wants a "quick
buck' and markets a "new" animal as a "cool" "popular" or "in" thing to
have.  Sadly this is why so many ferrets and other 'exotics' end up in
shelters or dumped or neglected....but it's not just ferrets.  In my
experiece ANY exotic animal, or any animal classified as such has
problems..and many of the same (see Iguanas that pl buy cuz they're
vegetarians and they think easier to care for and cheaper, also animals that
grow 5-6FEET long owners unequipped to deal with it and the animal gets
dropped off, killed, or just plain dies of neglect) The exotic industry, imo
exploits animals, pure and simple.  I have even recently seen threads on NGS
about "smallest rabbit in the world" where some guy decided to caputre,
breed, and sel Pikas...animals with a many square mile range in the wild,
as a rabbit you can keep in a 20 gallon aquarium.  We need to stop
domesticating and start educating...
 
Not just for our ferrets, for they surely are domestic, but for ALL exotic
animals..cuz when ppl think they're "cool" they'll get them..and the animal
pays.
[Posted in FML issue 2319]