Okay - I want to put at least MY interaction in this issue to rest.
 
There have been several "groups" trying to find a way to take in the excess
breeders MF has instead of them being put down.  I don't know who Alphachi
or Killian have been talking to, but when Mary van Dahm, Judi Bell and I
tried to work out an approachable solution, this is what we came up against:
 
MF would select the young breeders who did not produce well (easier to place
younger ferrets), select the non-aggressive of the group (some breeders are
more difficult to handle than others), and spay/neuter them.  MF asked for
the following:
 
- repayment for the altering,
- payment for the shipping,
- a commitment of taking X number per month so a process could be set up
  and consistently done.
 
We never discussed actual costs, though I suppose $60 would be the ballpark.
That is a LOT less than many spay operations done by vets.
 
The biggest problem was getting the shelters to commit to taking in a
standard amount monthly.  Mary said she could only handle 6 a month with her
volunteer staff to tame and train the ferrets.  At the time I still was a
full operation shelter and I could only commit to 4 a month and I didn't
have any volunteers.  We polled a few other shelters and not even discussing
the costs, no one could/would commit to taking in late alter untrained adult
ferrets on a regular basis.
 
So we agreed this was not going to be a workable solution.  MF does not want
to send out unlatered ferrets (understandable and the shelters would have to
pay just as much, if not more, to get them neutered) and if MF was going to
ship them, they should be reimbursed.  The big problem was the sheer numbers
involved.  Was it fair to displace all the wonderful ferrets who needed
placing because families were moving, or kids were going off to college, or
whatever the give up excuses were?  Some shelters right now don't share
their surplus with other shelters who can place ferrets quickly because they
need the $$$ of the adoption fees to pay for adrenals, neuterings and other
illness.
 
This discussion has become like the abortion issue: "It's a child, not a
choice" or "It's a choice until it becomes a child".  Both sides have valid
arguments, but the long run is this, if we could keep all the ferrets alive,
then shelters would be over run, burn out rampid, the animal shelters would
be euthanising the previously owned ferrets instead of MF ferrets because
the private shelters would have to start saying no to take ins, and there
would be a REAL ferret overpopulation problem.
 
We can't save all the ferrets.  Most people on this board know how I feel
about "pet shop rescues".  Well, MF breeder rescues are the same.  I've
handled adult ferrets straight from MF, and they are trainable, but I'd
rather spend my time and resources on the owner give ups or the lost ferret
who needs me.
 
Now, I've said my piece.  If you want to do something, tell MF that you WILL
pay the extra for microchipping, so we can track the ferrets (lost as well
as illness issues) and we can ALL learn and improve things for ferrets.
 
Pamela Troutman Grant
[Posted in FML issue 2003]