Wow.  I don't know where to start with this one and I hope I don't
offend.  As an avid vegetarian and animal rights activist who is
against factory farming and eating meat, I have to say a vegan diet
for ANY carnivorous pet is TOTALLY against what I believe in.
 
While we, as humans can make the choice to become vegetarian or vegan,
our pets don't have that luxury or digestive system to make that choice.
If we are going to own carnivorous pets, we have to feed them meat
PERIOD.
 
My ferret is on a natural diet of rabbit.  In the beginning, I used to
get sick while grinding his food in the meat grinder.  To me, as a
vegetarian, it was soooo gross.  It took me months before I could grind
his meat without throwing up.  I did this for him because I knew this
is what was best for HIM.  This is what he would be eating if he was in
the wild and what his digestive system was built for.
 
While many vegans and vegetarians feed their cats and dogs a vegan diet,
this is not a good nutrition for them (according to many studies).  I
personally, don't think it's ethical for us to make our pets conform to a
vegan or vegetarian diet because of our opinions.  Though while I agree,
factory farming is totally inhumane, there are always other alternatives.
 
Home cooking for your ferret/cat/dog.  After reading Ann Martin's book
"Food Pets Die For" many years ago, I began to home cook for my personal
ferrets, cats and my Doberman.  I used only free range-organic meat and
changed my own diet to the same (I was a meat eater at the time).  I did
this not only because of my personal ethics but also because Ms. Martin
opened my eyes to what was REALLY in the food I was feeding my pets.
 
I find it a shame to hear someone has introduced a vegan diet for ferrets
who aren't built to digest vegetable matter.  This is just my .02 cents
but I feel VERY strongly about it.
 
Miss Randy Melanie Belair
President
The Ferret Aid Society
www.ferretaid.org <http://www.ferretaid.org/>
[Posted in FML issue 5347]