Q: "I am a strict [vegetarian]....I want to place my ferret on a diet as meat free as possible. I hate the idea that animals have to die to feed my pet. Any suggestions?" A: Not any which excludes the introduction of several sticks of ignited dynamite into various body orifices. The ferret is a PRIMARY/STRICT/OBLIGATE carnivore; they are designed to eat other animals--not plants. It is who and what they are; if you like, that is how God made them. While I am sure you can find several testimonials from vegans supporting vegetarian diets for dogs and cats (and perhaps even ferrets), those which I have seen have lacked scientific support, long-term study on the health effects, and simply seem to be more of a political advertisement for a meatless life-style rather than a scientific study of an alternative food source. Personally, and I admit I might be wrong, but I think NO diet is as good for the ferret than one most like the diet polecats evolved eating. Considering the ferret's physiological and metabolic needs, I cannot think of a single plant-based diet that would even come close to providing a healthy alternative and I challenge ANYONE to scientifically prove me wrong. As for the worry about animals dying to feed a ferret, there is a mythology about vegetarianism that is misleading and factually incorrect about it's impact on animals. While a vegetarian diet does not require the killing of animals for consumption, it STILL results in the widespread death and loss of animal species as the result of it's practice. How? Because every acre of land placed under cultivation displaces (and kills, either from loss of habitat or starvation) animal species through the process of loss of habitat. Just exactly how many farmers welcome gophers or rabbits into their fields? How many species of animals do you see making a living in acres of soybeans? The single most destructive force in the history of mankind used against land animal species has been agriculture. Not all, but most of the extinctions and endangerments of land animal (and plant) species can be directly traced to monocultural farming and ranching practices; very few are actually related to overhunting. So, while vegetarians might not actually consume animals, farming practices STILL result in their widespread death and extinction. (I don't wish to get in an FML debate on this issue; I guarantee you will lose. I recognize species like the passenger pigeon, fisher, bison and beaver were overhunted, but they are only a few species compared to the thousands lost when farming and ranching reduced or eliminated habitat. In truth, the real problem is too damn many humans. Soylent Green, anyone?) Being a vegetarian is a personal and perhaps political decision, which for an omnivorous species like humans, is probably mostly benign. I support the individual right of a person to decide for themselves to accept such a lifestyle. For an obligate carnivore such as a ferret, which eats very little plant food (and lacks the metabolic ability to do so), vegetarianism is minimally potentially dangerous, and perhaps even abusive and unfair. Arguments that ferrets carry away broccoli, carrots and potatoes are just stupid; they eat rubber bands as well. Just because they might want something doesn't mean they SHOULD get eat it. Most animals will readily drink auto coolant if available, only to die horrible deaths. The willingness of a ferret to eat something is NOT evidence it is good for them to eat. What is good for them to eat is a diet which is metabolically digestible, provides all essential nutrients, and does not result in disease or injury. I am NOT convinced a vegetarian diet would satisfy those needs in the ferret and would need substantial scientific evidence before I could be convinced. Don't hold your breath. Bob C and 16 Mo' Obligate Carnivorous Dynamite Igniters [Posted in FML issue 3007]