Hey all.  Just sitting here wondering.  How many of us here have said to
someone, "Well, ferrets are the third most popluar pet in the US, behind
cats and dogs."?  Come now, don't be shy, raise your hands.  OK, a lot of
us.  Now then, I have read that exact statement here on the FML recently.
Made me think.  Really?  For sure?  I myself have said that to people,
and I generally try not to be misinformed, do my homework before using
statistics, etc.  In this case I had not, so I looked it up.  The closest
I can come is a 1996 study by the AVMA (the American Veterinary Medical
Association), in fact, the US Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook.
I actually didn't read the book, just the summary on the AVMA website.  It
states that ferrets and rabbits (not ferrets alone, mind you,) comprised
the third highest MAMMALIAN popluation in the US in 1996.  Approx 5.7
million in about 2.3% of households.  (Doesn't state whether that is
pet-owning households or just US households in general.) I also came across
an advertisement for the 1999/2000 AAPMA National Pet Owners Survey, which
is an industry publication.  The darn thing was almost $200 to buy, and
there was no summary available online that I could find.  So my question
is: Is there information more current that I have not found or which is not
available to me, but maybe to one of you, which supports the common
statement above?
 
Melissa
 
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Melissa
www.geocities.com/lostferrets
[Posted in FML issue 3183]