I have been lurking for a while, and I have checked the stars, and they say it is a fortuitous time to come out of hiding! :) So here is my two cents on this debate. I am one of those people who got their first set of ferrets from a pet store, knowing not a gosh-darn thing about ferrets except they were 1) adorable, 2) adorable, and 3) destined to be mine. And like many new owners, I did some *really* stupid things at first, and was fortunate to avoid any real tragedies (they came back from between the floorboards, they did not fall in the toliet and drown, etc...:) And I also learned a lot about ferrets and the 'ferret community', and made sure that the next two I got were rejects and shelter ferrets, and I think I would not get one from a store again, since there are so many 'pre-loved' ferrets in need. The good thing about stores is that you get people like me, but the bad thing is that you get people like a woman I know who's ferret *did* fall in the toilet and drown, and the only reason it didn't happen to me was that mine never tried to get in there - it *never occurred* to me that they might. So many of us are ignorant at first, and even though we get better, some ferrets suffer. But I never would have bought a ferret if it wasn't for the store, and now there are two shelter ferrets with homes with me, and more I am sure to come...:) In short, perhaps it would be best to have only ferret-knowledgeable people getting them, but that is unlikely I think. If fewer people get ferrets from stores, then, presumeably, demand will drop and fewer will be bred for stores. Unfortunately, if you do that you get a period of time where those poor babies in the stores do not get bought, or have to live in the store for a long time before they do. Better for ferrets overall if a few go through that? Maybe, but it's a hard call. Anyway, thanks for listening. Megan, Anastasia 'why would anybody get in a toilet?', Lexie 'I'm not a reject, mom!', and Sammi 'don't blame me, i'm new here' -- "Taken out of context I must seem so strange." - Ani di Franco [Posted in FML issue 2411]