[Moderator's note: Tara is new to this list and hasn't had to endure our
quarterly Marshall Farms debates.  I *really* doubt any new info will come
out of this round and I likely will be calling an end to the topic VERY
soon.  In the meantime, I encourage interested readers who haven't been
through the debates to search the FML archives over the last few months
for a wealth of information.  Please keep comments to the list pertinent
to Marshall's specifically.  Thanks!  BIG]
 
Marshall Farms, whom most fuzzer luvers have heard of or adopted a ferret
from, is the nation's largest ferret mill.  In the pet shops we see these
beautiful animals and hear from the manager about how well bred these babies
are, so we immediatly take out our wallets and buy 1 or 6!  but what aren't
we being told about this wonderful farm?  the stuff i'm going to tell you is
not rumors or my own opinion, it's facts from a report by US inspectors
during an investigation of the MF facilities.
 
In the breeding areas of the ferrets and dogs, they saw:
*numerous broken or rusted sharp wires protruding into pens.
*inadequate floor space for the animals to move around.
*ferret cage flooring made of 1"x1" wire mesh which the ferrets had
 difficulty walking on.
*grossly unsanitary veterinary procedures employed during spaying,
 castrations, and descenting surgeries.
*dogs with their feet caught, and puppies whose feet fall through the wires
 of the cage floors.
 
Under animal health and husbandry, it was noted that "numerous pens had
urine and dirt accumulation on the wood frames.
 
Numerous small ferrets, and some larger ones, were seen to have trouble
walking in their cages. The ferrets seemed to crawling or "swimming" across
the floors and from time to time their legs fell through the large cage
floor openings.
 
around 10% of marshall ferrets are sold to research labs each year.  since
MF winds up with a result of 80,000 or more ferrets every year, this
averages out to be between 8 and 10 thousand ferrets a year sent to the
cruel vivisection (live animal experiments) labs.
 
Marshall Farms raises their animals cramped in stacked elevated cages so
they can get the feel of a laboratory environment.
 
Yes- MF will sometimes inbreed.  And yes- MF animals are unnaturally
forcebred year-round.  And yes- the breeder ferrets are killed after 3 years
or whenever they can't produce more kits.  (whichever comes first), but MF
refuses to tell how they are killed.  And MF will breed a ferret who has
genetic problems, if it's an unusual color.  Such as the very beautiful
BEWs.
 
And since MF ferrets are purposly taken away from their mothers a few weeks
before weaning (because of the high demand of pet ferrets), they have their
spay/neuter and descenting operations at a dangerously young age.  This can
affect their health seriously.
 
And during alot of animal shipping, MF doesn't put "live animal" stickers on
the crates and boxes, which result in death sometimes because noone knows to
handle the crates with care.  There was a case where a baby ferret arrived
from shipment frozen to death!!!
 
there you have it, some dirty facts about what MF is hiding from you.  I
am not trying to say that there is something wrong with anyone's MF pet.
I just thought I'd let you know what really happens at the "wonderful"
ferret/puppy mill that has such a high reputation with it's unknowing
public.  If you're MF ferret seems to have abnormal personality or health
problems, it can most likely be blamed on the conditions it was bred in.
[Posted in FML issue 2326]