You know... I hate to say this, because some things that Ed says may actually inflame me as well... but Ed often has very interesting points to make, and whilst he may (deliberately or not) word them in a way that seems to be trolling... he often has many factual points to make as well. Over the many years that Ed has been on the list, he has times when he has posted a lot, and other times when he has disappeared for long periods of time... possibly because of the stream of insults and threats he receives from many subscribers. I know that I stopped posting because someone accused me of doing something that I did not... and she brought a lot of others "on side" to constantly harass me for many months. After over six months of this, I finally gave up bothering to post and contributing to the ferret community as a whole because I just couldn't deal with it. I definitely couldn't handle the crud that he gets for as long as he's received it. Until I got all of that, I loved taking photos of baby ferrets and showing their development. I loved making sites with information on how to age a ferret using their teeth and other interesting things... I loved putting up sites showing things happening in the ferret world. I even enjoyed doing Skeeter - not that many will remember that character! I had a ball writing magazine articles about ferrets, breeding, and even about ferret people. All of that is gone now, all because of a few vindictive people who thought that harassing someone for doing some imagined slight was better than helping the ferret community as a whole. Heck, it's been so long that I can picture most people now on the FML not even knowing who I am. Ed has an uncanny knack for touching on subjects that can inflame people. Having said which, many times those subjects are areas that need to be studied more intensely. He can make people question what are common beliefs, and look like a jerk while doing it, because people, by nature, don't like to question what they "know" and hold as a basic belief. If someone makes a person question something, they often get angry and upset. Heck, even though I've seen proof that ferrets can love to kill for the sake of it (one of my old ferrets would do it), even I had a reaction to the "Ferrets will kill just for the love of it" comment. However, give a little time to think over it rather than just react, and any reply will not only be more considered, but also won't give the impression that it is just a knee-jerk reaction. Ed has a habit of pointing out what can be inconvenient truths about ferrets. For instance... ferrets are carnivores. Whilst logically people here realise that, some seem to believe that it only means that they are like rabbits that eat kibble instead of rabbit food. In reality, I've received more damage from rabbits than ferrets in my life, so that may not be the best example! However, being carnivorous means that ferrets think differently from herbivores. They're more curious for a start. More likely to be out in the open, exploring... than finding a safe, comfortable spot to rest and watch for potential predators. They're also more likely to openly play with, wrestle, nip, bite and mouth something new. Herbivores are more likely to approach something new cautiously.... sniff first and dash away if it moves. Now, these don't cover a full spectrum of mental differences, but it does point out, I hope, that ferrets are different from many other small "cage" animals. They think differently, act differently... that's why ferret people like ferrets. It isn't a bad trait, it's just what ferrets are. If they acted like rabbits, we'd probably have rabbits instead... they're a lot cheaper to feed! Do ferrets like being outside? They love it. Do ferrets like digging in the dirt? Definitely. Do ferrets like being ferrets? Well... last I checked, they didn't want to be rabbits :) (okay, it's hard to read their minds, but they definitely SEEM to be happy to be ferrets!) I know there are a lot of politically-based factions who would love to have an excuse to ban ferrets or to keep ferrets banned. In my opinion, they're crazy loons... but that's my opinion :) Many people who actively want to ban ferrets have never experienced them. All they know are the old wives tales... "ferrets stink"... "ferrets bite"... "ferrets eat babies"... "ferrets kill all the native wildlife"... it's a list way too long to go over fully. Can ferrets smell? Yup, especially if they aren't descented and they get excited or scared. Do they smell all the time? Not usually. Do dogs smell? Yup, ever been near a dog after it's been for a swim?! Can ferrets bite? Definitely. A well tended, healthy ferret usually doesn't, but they can. A sick ferret, a ferret who hasn't been trained in proper "ferret etiquette" and a ferret who is scared can bite. Do ferrets eat babies? Well... Ed gave an example (not sure where from) of one ferret killing a baby. Strictly speaking, it didn't eat the baby... I have heard of one case where a ferret was blamed for killing a baby. Similar situation to what Ed described, actually. I was wondering if it was the same case. They found out later that the ferret hadn't killed the baby, but their pet dog had. I've also heard of two pet rats who had apparently killed a baby in Texas. I have no idea what the situations are in any of these cases. Their stories all seem to match... from the baby being on the floor, the parents being in either a drunken or drug-induced stupor, to the small animals involved being starved (no food in stomach or intestines in necropsy). I know there really are that many people who would leave a baby on the floor, get high or drunk enough to pass out, and have small, starving animals running around... so I can't even say that it may be a "conspiracy theory" type of thing. This many cases really COULD have happened with so many babies and so many small animals. Does seem strange that it doesn't appear on the news more often though. As for ferrets killing all the native wildlife? There are very few countries in the world where ferrets have any chance of surviving in the wild. Less chances for ferrets who are brought up on a solely kibble diet, since ferrets being fed the same thing from a young kit seem to imprint on specific brands of food, let alone specific types of food. Converting a ferret from kibble to raw food is an exercise in patience and consistency. I *have* heard of ferrets who have died because of a manufacturer changing the formula with their favourite kibble (also with kibble that has been taken off the market). As usual I have strayed from my original topic. Ed may not be the most popular person in the FML with many of it's subscribers... but if someone could take some kind of calming agent so his more controversial comments can be read without making those comments seem somehow personal... that person could read what questions he is putting to the community in general, and see if they can help to answer those questions, or at least think them through. Thinking through new ideas can help the ferret community as a whole. Is the way he phrases things that offensive that the fact that he can actually be helping ferrets should be discarded? Just a thought. I'll hobble back into relative obscurity again. Sam [Posted in FML 6224]