I recently found a copy of James McKay's 1995 edition of "Complete Guide to
Ferrets".  In it (I have it here in front of me but won't quote exactly" he
says that legging is now illegal in the UK because it causes stress to the
ferrets (duh, they should try sitting with their faces in the pants of man
who has been hunting rabbits all day!).  He also mentions that the last
record holder was a 72 year old man from Yorkshire who manages to keep a
ferret down his pants for over five hours.
 
He claims the tradition comes from the days when ferreters weren't too
popular cuz people were scared of their ferrets.  So they would shove them
down their pants when they went about, so as not to tip people off with a
carry box or bag.  He mentions that in those days, stitching ferrets lips
together was common so that they could not bite the keeper nor eat a rabbit
underground, so keeping them in their pants wasn't much of a danger to
their - ahem - person :)
 
I don't know how correct his information is, as it's the only reference I
have ever seen to the sport prior to this...  but it certainly sounds
plausible.
 
By the way...  is anyone going to the sanctioned championship ferret show
(boy that sounds grand!) in Seattle this August?  Having never even been
near a real ferret show before, I have no idea which ferrets to bring and
what categories to enter them in...in fact, what are the categories??  But
we are really eager to attend and we are really hoping for a ribbon or two
(surely I haven't spent $50.00 a month on great foods for nothing?!)
 
Sheena
 
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Ferrets & Friends Club & Rescue E-Mail:  [log in to unmask]
"dedicated to the preservation of the domestic ferret as a
 household pet", a no-kill, not-for-profit ferret facility.
* * * * * * *
For more information about the FFCR try our homepage:
< http://www.geopages.com/Colosseum/1575 >
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[Posted in FML issue 1474]