Glenn Johnson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>I really hope you're not entertaining the thought of "using" ferrets to
>control prairie dog population, for if you are, you will kill nothing other
>than the ferrets.  Ferrets have no chance of survival on their own.
 
Now don't be silly, you don't leave the ferret out there to fend for
itself:-)
 
The ferret used in rabbiting is placed at the entrance to the warren and it
will go underground of it's own accord.  The ferret is not used to kill the
rabbits but to bolt them into purse or long nets which have been set to
catch the fleeing rabbits.  Ferrets are fitted with locator collars so that
the ferreter can locate the ferret and dig down to recover the ferret if it
should become necessary.
 
>A domestic ferret would probably see a prairie dog as a playmate rather
>than something to kill.
 
What other type of ferret is there other than domestic?  (I don't class the
BFF in this category as it is a native American species).  Honestly in
England we use "mustela putorius furo" for working because "mustela putorius
putorius" (European polecat) being a wild animal would 'do a runner' at the
first opportunity.  Anyway don't be so sure that the "American domestic"
ferret wouldn't kill a rodent or any other mammal for that matter - some
American ferrets will still retain the 'hunting' instinct, the ferret is
first and foremost a carnivore.  The domestic cat is a prime example, a real
pussy cat in the home but outside a true "tiger on the tiles"!
 
>Ferret lovers, at least those in the US, don't see their ferrets as "only
>pets", they see them as family and not as expendable working animals.
 
eeh up owd lad!  I don't regard my ferret as expendable working animals, the
are "family" before they are working animals.  BTW the ferrets enjoy the
hunting expeditions.  They are not forced underground, they do it because
it's what comes naturally.  Don't your ferrets like running through pipes
and exploring new places?
 
Bolton Ferret Welfare & National Ferret Welfare Society Newsletter Editor
http://www.btinternet.com/~sheila/ferrets.htm (Last Update 3 March 1998)
Waiting at Rainbow Bridge: Jill & Deanna Troi
[Posted in FML issue 2242]