In regards to Eleanor's post and the ferret pelt selling on Ebay . . . . Eleanor, (and anyone else who finds themselves caught in this dilemma) doesn't have to apologize for speaking her mind and expressing what she believes from her heart, esp. since she did so in such a dignified, polite manner! I APPLAUD YOU Eleanor and very much concur with all of the other posts pertaining to this matter. I personally believe it is more erroneous to keep silent and NOT share this information (the Ebay sale) than to speak up and inform others, which is totally within the right to freedom of speech. I see it this way: Ethically speaking, ANY animal that is commonly and routinely sold in a "PET" store to be used as companionship in a general domestic environment should be protected from being sold, dead or alive, through any company or organization that does not allow the same type of sale for OTHER domesticated animals. There are no exceptions to this that come to mind and I don't want to start splitting hairs (although I'm sure it could be done), but if no one is selling bird carcasses or gerbil, rabbit, hamster, cat, or dog furs on Ebay why then would anyone think that selling a ferret pelt is acceptable? In regards to the freedom of speech aspect, we all excercise this freedom every day in some form or fashion even though there are many, many things I personally deem inappropriate and would rather NOT hear or read. But being notified of this kind of sale and reading what Eleanor wrote were certainly not things I was offended by whatsoever. It was totally within her right to express her thoughts to the seller and totally within the sellers' rights to take whatever action (or not) as a result. I,too, emailed the ferret pelt seller and Ebay customer service with my personal opinions of this sale, although I must confess I was not nearly as kind with my wording as was Eleanor. Guess that's the result of writing in the "heat of the moment" when my blood was simmering near boiling point. Maybe (and I'm hoping) the amount of comments Ebay received will cause them to rethink or adjust their parameters about what kinds of animal-related sales are acceptable and appropriate, esp. when it pertains to an animal most widely known as a domesticated 'pet'. Honestly, even if I wasn't a ferret owner, I think I'd still be pretty shocked about this for that very reason. Jennifer and the dynamic duo, Sasha & Snowball [Posted in FML issue 4640]