Howdy all.
 
There seems to be two conflicting lines of thought on showing ferrets which
have congenital or genetic "defects" (I really dislike that term, but my
brain has not come up with a better alternative).
 
One line thinks that people should be allowed to show their beautiful blaze
or panda ferrets and no one should disqualify their ferret just because
some breeder -- and the show sponsors, for that matter -- decided the
pattern was nice.  The problem with this line of thinking is that if there
are rings for blazes or pandas, etc.  (I'm just using these patterns
because of the high likelihood of WS -- not to say that other patterns
cannot have genetic defects), the non-ferret-knowledgeable public -- even
current ferret owners not quite up to speed -- will see them and consider
them a desireable type of ferret to have (gotta admit, they do have very
remarkable patterns).  Demand goes up, breeders produce more.  Problem
continues.
 
The other line of thought is that any ferret displaying any type of
malformation should be immediately disqualified from showing.  While this
would definitely get the message across to breeders, etc., much of the
ferret community has the potential to feel alienated (e.g., someone who has
one or two ferrets of a WS pattern -- that's it).
 
What if there were a middle of the road solution (G*d, I have no idea how
this one is going to go over with the FML, but here goes...)?  What if
shows gave people the opportunity to show ferrets with genetic problems IF
AND ONLY IF they were altered?  In that way, the show sponsors could allow
people to show their ferrets without the fear that they will be used to
perpetuate the genetic flaws.  Also, only allowing altered ferrets would
certainly generate some discussion among those showing their ferrets about
why that rule is in place, permitting a chance to educate those in the
ferret community (and outside the ferrets community) about
patterns/breeding/genetics...
 
I would love to show my big old guy, Tripod Bob (he has only three feet and
a stubby tail), but I don't think anyone would take him into their ring.
Love him to death anyway. . .
 
-- Andy and the 5 sock pirates
[Posted in FML issue 3219]