Could we, please, have less fighting on whether the reasons ferrets are given up is justifiable and more about the whys and wherefores of giving up ferrets? Yes, there are people who give up ferrets as casually as they have gotten them, but there are also those who have carefully saved for emergencies and taken good care of themselves and things only to have something absolutely catastrophic and perhaps long-term horrors happen unexpectedly. NO ONE here knows what health concerns others have: there may be a progressive disability which has entered their family's life by hurting a member, or an unexpected severe accident, or who knows what. Heck, just think of thefar to many people who hear "allergies" and think "sniffles" instead of life-threatening (and often deadly) breathing or blood pressure reductions and the like even though those happen. NO ONE here knows what costs others have, either. Sure, some fritter money away, but others are supporting extended family with no one here the wiser. Everyone has LIMITS, and sometimes life pushes us to them, so let's, PLEASE, stop arguing about this since it's something which is specific to each given situation and generalizing can't be done in either direction. Instead, let's discuss the reasons WHY people give up their ferrets, which are the common reasons, etc. If these things can be learned then perhaps people can address education targeted to those specifics and THAT might prevent some purchases which shouldn't happen in the first place. The purchases which don't make sense include the casual ones by people who don't learn about ferrets (preferably beforehand, but if not then afterward -- said as people who had ferrets before we found any resources since it was some time ago and such materials were hard to locate then), and who really don't care about them very much (as shown by actions rather than words). Other ones which don't make sense involve people who simply want the ferret with a short-term desire and perhaps unrealistic expectations, or those which are purchases which would not be made (and therefore ferrets which wouldn't wind up in shelters) if the person could find decent information sources beforehand. Many people are good about considering alternatives that are better suited to their needs IF they can get enough info up-front. Perhaps some ferrets are given up due to MISinformation -- like people who just assume they will be dangerous for children when they are like any other pet in terms of precautions needed. Knowing the most common reasons for surrenders will allow information to be better targeted and in that way might help ferrets and shelters by reducing surrenders. Let's trash the judgements and get down to compiling reasons and noting most common ones. Let's turn this into something constructive. Okay? [Posted in FML issue 3070]