I agree with Deanna. It is terrible that some people are irresponsible enough to get pets and not care for them properly. This is a major problem not only with ferrets but also with dogs and especially cats. I work at a vet clinic and I have seen many a wonderful, sweet kitties dumped off-- sometimes quite litterally, left by the dumpster in the parking lot. Just this year I adopted a cat from an extremely irresponsible person I knew who refused to get him neutered, threw him outside w/o any shots because they got sick of him spraying, and the poor cat of course got a bite wound on his face which abcessed, and since he didn't have his rabies he is now in quarrantine for a year. But although this type of behavior is deplorable in a person which undertakes the responsibility of pet ownership, I think it would have been better for this person to have given the cat to someone who would have cared for it properly BEFORE it had to go through the pain of the above experience. Of course, it goes without saying that it would have been preferable that they not get a cat in the first place if they were not going to care for it, but which is the lesser of two evil, to keep the animal and have it neglected, or to give it away, hopefully to a home where it will be well loved and maintained? And there are always circumstances which can arise in life. I myself would probably give away children before ferrets (which is why i'm not planning on having any children!!:) ), but sometimes things just do not work out. Personally I would rather see someone give their ferrets to someone on the list or adopt them out through a shelter than neglect them and/or set them free to die. *T. [Posted in FML issue 2087]