Boy, I tried, but I just couldn't let this one go by.... > //Answer// Yep. Some folks who've been on the ferret >"merry-go-round" for a long time and have had the rotten luck to have >paid thousands of dollars to fatten the pockets of veterinarians >(curative surgery excisions to whack away at cancers) in the mostly >hopeless and futile effort to "cure" their beloved ferret, are at last >questioning the "good sense" of buying a commercial grade ferret. Hold on there. I thought veterinarians were our friends? Let's not demonize them, hey? Furthermore, if, as you imply, we should end research, then how are we to ever find true cures for the diseases that plague our ferret friends? > //Answer// Well, all that I believe is not necessarily factual. I >can't prove the 70/30 percent cancer rate in commercial ferrets - >nobody can do that today, since data collection is fragmentary at best. Well spoken. And given that fact this claim is, in the first place, pure conjecture and potentially dangerous misinformation. As such it has no place in a careful argument. > //Answer// Indeed that is true. These ferrets are bred to be as >uniform as possible (heavily inbred) and their life expectancy is Um, inbreeding produces genetic specificity, localized mutation, and high defect rates from recessive recombination. Large breeding pools encourage uniformity. Also, note that many breeders shoot for diversity and deliberate mutation (albino, bulldog, blaze, angora...) in preference to the "uniform" polecat markings. > //Answer// The tragic difference of not being smart enough to buy >my ferret from a private, knowledgable ferret breeder rather than >from the pet store or even a ferret shelter. Ah, so now shelters are in bed with the enemy too. Good to know. Finally, "query" is spelled with one "r", and "question" is a far more suitable word for this usage anyway. So what's my point? It is this: the message is well-intended, but this presentation smacks far too much of sensationalism. If you want to win converts to your cause, you can do so best by presenting well-reasoned arguments in a calm, neutral tone. Don't let emotion rule your arguments. Present references for your "facts". Don't state claims without the data to back them up. And finally, spelling and word choice make a huge difference, even if subconscious, in how well your message is received. (No offense Sukie - we all know how tired you are! ;-)) It comes down to this: no matter how true or false any of these statements are, the ferret-buying public at large remain entirely unaware of the issues. They remain unaware of the existence of most shelters and nearly all breeders. They have no resources readily available to help them tell a reputable store/shelter/breeder from your average huckster. To many of them, a ferret is "just an animal" to be enjoyed or discarded at will. Until someone comes up with a solution to the problem of educating the public at large, and making them actually care about animals, nothing will change. You can rant and rave about it on the FML all you want, but nothing will change. You must remember that we are a very small minority of all of the ferret- owning people in the world. The knowledge about our ferret companions here is exceptional, as is our access to the internet. Many ferret owners have neither. If the general public knew the issues and felt as we do (on average) on this list, many stores and breeders would not be able to profit from selling animals and would cease. The reality is, however, that both will go on happily selling animals and making a profit at it because they sell to the uninformed masses, not to us. Roger & the Fibonacci Ferts [Posted in FML issue 3858]