Why are there ferret breeders out there that insist on "LINE BREEDING" as this is another word for "IN-BREEDING"? I do know something about breeding as my mom bred cats for more that 30yrs, also bred dogs and rabbits. Breeding is to improve health, temperment and longevity of the ferret, not just for looks. Here's an example: I purchased a 6 moth old hob from a well known ferret breeder in 1999 as a breeder male, not a pet. She asurred me that the liniage papers were in the folder that came with JD(Jack Daniels) and that no inbreeding was commited. THe liniage papers wren't in the folder as I discoverd when I got home. I called the breeder and asked that she send another set(this took 3 months to recieve). After reding the liniage papers that were sent< I foud that JD was a product of inbreeding! His Mom & Dad were related! The same 4 ferrets that appeared in dad's side were also in mom's 3rd & 4th generation from JD. To make matters worse, 2 of the ferrets on mom's side appeared twice! I called the breeder with my findings and she replied that she didn't own the mom, but the mom was in her name. We lost JD at the age of almost 4yrs from insylinomia and Lymphoma. We wre crushed, needless to say we've never delt with that breeder again. Now, from growing up in a breeding houshold I did learn that 7-8 generations is considered a safe zone as anything closer could cause major health problems. So I'm asking again why are there breeders that insist on inbreeding?? Debi WEASLE QUEEN [Posted in FML issue 4956]