William Killian <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >In that list you gave, the first two shouldn't be limited to shelters >where the operator is also a breeder. You are absolutely correct: these two items should apply to all ferret shelters. Here are the two points again, for those who don't want to scan back through the previous FML: + each ferret in the shelter gets out for play time and attention every single day, + every litter pan is scooped every day and all food bowls and water bottles are checked each day and filled as needed, >We have heard from people we respect on both sides unfortunately so we >only feel right in speaking in these general terms. That's only fair -- it's hard to form sound opinions from second hand information. I'm amazed that anyone would find conditions at this shelter anything but deplorable, but perhaps they have only visited soon after a cleaning day and not seen the piles of feces or experienced the eye burning sensation when first walking into the shelter days after the weekly cleaning routine, or seen a ferret die from infections caused by living in an inadequately cleaned cage, or discovered a ferret that has been stuck in twisted bedding for the past several days. As I said in a previous post, I had nearly four years to witness first hand what was going on, and I too was willing to overlook a lot of questionable practices for the first few years, hoping things would change for the better, but they only became worse. It is important to emphasis that the breeding of ferrets at this shelter is NOT what made this shelter bad -- it only exacerbated the already horrid conditions. Leonard Bottleman [Posted in FML issue 3218]