Troy, I would guess you're talking about a shelter in my area where, in addition to the atrocities you mention, ferrets are also bought wholesale from back east (mostly angora kits) and resold here (bumping the shelter ferrets from the nicer cages when they arrive). Where "pet ferrets" languish side by side with the breeders and shelter ferrets for years on end. Where "favorite" ferrets come in and never leave because the shelter operator is a collector, and after a month or two of favorite status are lumped in with the ever increasing population of neglected "pets." Where shelter ferrets that come into season are as likely to be bred as to be spayed or neutered. Where any suggestion or query from the weekly volunteer shelter staff on pet or breeder reduction is treated as a personal attack and responded to in kind. Where all ferrets, breeders, pets, and shelter kids are lumped into a single "shelter count" whenever they are soliciting contributions or issuing PR statements. As others have pointed out, no one holds a monopoly on ferret neglect and abuse, and I have seen problems with shelter-only facilities, shelter/breeders, breeder only, and individual owners, but none on the scale of this one shelter/breeder/ wholesaler/collector. - Depressed Ferret [Posted in FML issue 2318]