We have a crisis here.  Nancy, Lynda, Kaye and I went to check out the
Fredonia Kansas breeder.  He has 40-50 ferrets and he wants to sell them.
I'd say they range in ages from 1-5 yrs.  The males are housed out back in
hutches with wire bottoms.  He has 10 males and the rest are all females -
and 4-5 kits.  The females are kept in make shift sheds in cages with wire
bottoms and the smell of Lysol makes you sick.  Most are albinos.  The cages
are adequate for now.  In the winter he throws piles of straw in one of the
sheds and releases all the females in there and mass feeds and waters.  The
males I assume are left out back in the hutches.  Then in spring he goes out
and cleans out the straw and the... dead ferrets.  He doesn't know why they
die, they just do.  He has a large bird farm too and talks affectionately
about the birds but says the ferrets are mean and just shook his head in
amazement when I told him we would rehab the ferrets and place them in homes
as companions.
 
There isn't a mean one in the lot.  They are only reacting to the way he
treats them.  They are abused by him.  I tried to inform him and left
material with him but he's one of those people that know what he is doing
and no matter what I say - he is doing it right.
 
I offered to take them all off his hands as he does want to get rid of them,
but he refused.  He will sell them to us though.  I've got to do something
for those babies.  We need to raise $1500 to buy them, then I'll work out
something for vaccinations, shots and I have to find someplace to hold them.
I can't bring them to my house with active ECE unless I can't find anywhere
else for them.  These poor babies have never been vaccinated or received any
type of medical care.  The stay in the cages day after day, no love, care,
playing....
 
I have an offer of $500 from one person so far.  I'm not one to ask but
these babies need us!  Please, whatever you can send, or however you can
help (transportation, foster homes, etc.) would be so appreciated.  Please
help us help these innocent victims.  PLEASE.....
 
3-4 times a year this man sprinkles them with Tide and hoses them down
to get them good and clean. (!!!!!)
 
There was food and water and bedding box with straw in each cage and the
majority of them were alert.  Many of the females peaked out of the boxes to
look at us as we went through.  We were looking for old or/and sick ones to
buy yesterday.
 
We bought 5.  A pregnant, obviously adrenal diseased female, an albino male
whose eyes were different sizes, Lynda bought a male that was not a good
stud and a blind female, and Kaye bought a mitt male.  I'd have bought more
if I'd had someplace to place them.  As I looked at the tiny faces and
imagined what their life had been like I just wanted to grab them all and
take them home.  But that was not realistic.  I also considered the
transportation.  The males would need to be separate, the females possibly
2-3 to a cage.  Some of these females are pregnant.
 
There are no other KS agencies to help us.  They would only kill the
ferrets.  I hope with a plea to the fml we'll get some help here.
 
Vikki in Arkansas offered to take 10-15.
 
I'm considering taking a 2nd mortgage on my house to raise the funds for
spays, neuters and vaccinations....
 
We've got to do something to get them all before winter sets in.  It be a
wonderful christmas present to all those little ones to have a warm loving
caring compassionate home with lots of food medical care and TLC!
 
If you have any ideas or suggestions please let me know.
 
Here's what we need -
$1500 to rescue the ferrets
Cages and trucks to transport them all in the same day to foster homes or
others that will tranport them on to foster homes
Foster homes
Funds to spay/neuter and vaccinate every one
People to rehabilitate them
 
Even if you can only take one it will make a difference.  I can't offer
you anything in return except the warm fuzzy wonderful loving feeling of
helping ferrets that are otherwise destined to live a painful cruel life.
 
Hugs to all. tle
[Posted in FML issue 1708]