I just got the *coolest* book. "Working Ferrets" by Jackie Drakeford. A friend of mine just came back from the UK and she brought me this book as a gift for taking care of her two for a week. It is incredibly neat to see ferrets treated both as a pet and as the animal they were originally domesticated as. The writer mentions over and over again how ferrets are a domestic animal, how much she loves and admires them and that even the sweetest pet ferret can be a rather efficent hunter. She also talks about how she feels about breeding back to European Polecats (she thinks it is not nessesary) and that altered and rescue ferrets are fine hunters too! I know some people might be offended at the idea of their little sweety attached snout first to a rabbit but I think it is important to understand the history of our favorite pet (explains some of their behavior). Besides, I don't think we have the same sort of problems with an out of control rabbit population as the UK and Australia do - so our ferrets need not hunt, except squeaky toys, our keys and socks. Ann [Posted in FML issue 2184]