As part of the Diet 101 fallout, as well as other events, I have been asked to throw in my two cents regarding breeders and ferret responsibilities. As most of you realize, I take both subjects quite seriously, so you don't get my usual off the cuff wise cracks. The following statement are meant to apply to ferrets, this being the FML and all, but they could easily apply to any animal, or person, anywhere. That is because the underlying point of any discussion concerning living and breathing things is quality of and right to life. The major stumbling block is the difference in belief between what I think a domesticated ferret represents, and what anyone else may think. I consider owning a ferret nothing more than being a caretaker, similar in spirit to parenthood. In this relationship, the ferret has rights and I have responsibilities towards the ferret's care and well being. The opposite viewpoint is taken by those who see a ferret as property, an object to be bought, traded, bartered or sold, without any rights save those of the owner. In that case, the owner has only the reponsibility to protect their property because of the associated monetary worth. Many people on the FML fit into both categories, with perhaps the more vocal of us in the first category rather than the second. Breeders follow the same pattern. I remember growing up on a small farm in California, and arguing with my father about putting a cat down or trying to save it from massive injuries. My dad always allowed me to get my way, and in retrospect I can see it was also his way, but the debate steeled my will and taught me valuble lessons. The lesson was, you cannot own another living being, you can only care for it the best you can. By assigning a value to a ferret, you have degraded it from a living being to an object, and your responsibility shifts from the creature to your wallet. Breeders can be caught in a bind here. You may consider yourself a ferret caretaker, but you have to assign value to the animal. "Good" ferrets are assigned higher value, and "bad" ferrets are assigned less value. The danger is when an ferret is so "bad" that it is assigned zero value. To a caretaker of animals, this is no problem, because the life value is always high and takes priority over the monetary value. But many breeders are *NOT* concerned with anything other than the monetary value of the ferret, and only temper their actions with it harms their pocketbook. I have personally witnessed such responses. Last year, I watched a female kit die of internal injuries and infection, without the breeder making any attempt to save its life at all. When I inspected the kit, I recognized the immediate danger and bluntly told the breeder to take the kit to a vet immediately or it would die. I was assured, through tears and anguish, that they would do so first thing in the morning. Several days later I discovered I was duped; there was no attempt at all to help the little kit, and it died without treatment. The reason? The breeder did not have the funds to pay for the vet visit and it was thought the ferret would die anyway. In other words, even if the kit had a chance, it was likely the illness would prevent it from being a kit with monetary value, so it was not worth the cost of decent care, and since it would die anyway, not worth the cost of euthanasia. This breeder has continued to breed and cause major harm to ferrets. (Should anyone wish to pursue the matter, they can email me privately). Now, with the most sincere and forthright desire *NOT* to start yet another endless and meaningless Marshall Farms debate, the same *is* true with that establishment as well. Ferrets are only cared for so long as they represent value, and only the minimal care and treatment is provided to those ferrets which have the prospect of being sold. This is a form of economic triage, with ferrets having low value losing their lives because they have little or no prospect of finding someone looking through the plexiglass and being overcome by their cute little faces. Costs are cut and lives are lost, and no one knows or really cares about the consequences of baby ferrets heading to the garbage. But ferrets are pets; although we never domesticated them--that occurring thousands of years ago--we still support that long ago decision by our "ownership" of the little guys. With the acceptance of a ferret in our life, we also accept certain moral and ethical obligations that go with it. The right to a wholesome and healthy diet, the right to medical care, the right to clean food and water, the right to clean and safe housing, the right to fellowship, the right to be a ferret, and the right to be allowed to live and die with the dignity afforded all living creatures. If a breeder fails to grants those rights, even if they see the ferret as property rather than as living creature, then we, as ferret caretakers, have to voice our outrage. Breeders who fail to met these minimum standards must be shunned. They must not be allowed to participate in ferret events or functions, we must not buy their products, and, hardest of all, we must not allow a show of sorrow or a partial change to move us from our demand that full compliance *must* be met before our sanctions will be lifted. *ANY* club or ferret organization who fails in this regard fails us all and especially our ferrets. Such organizations are not worthy of our support. Since we lack a unified front to fight for us in this matter, you have to do it on your own. Don't buy products from breeders who place their pocketbook before the welfare of the ferret they are selling. If you know of a breeder who harms ferrets, collect the evidence and inform us of the problems (evidence being real, observed or collected things, not hearsay and rumor). Let the people involved know *exactly* what the offences are, so they can learn from their mistakes and correct the problem. And most of all, we need to stick together; if not for ourselves, then for the ferrets under our care. Bob C and 20 MO Ferrets of Inmeasureable Worth [Posted in FML issue 2351]