Are you thinking about buying a ferret from a pet
store? Most likely that ferret is a product of 'Marshall Farms', a
large-scale ferret and dog breeding company based in North Rose, NY.
Marshall Farms ferrets are pretty easy to distinguish from most others in
that they generally have two small blue dots tattooed in their right
ear. They're most easily seen from the back of the ear. On
occasion, we've also encountered some that have one of the toe-pads
tattooed. The tattoos themselves are indicators. One dot for a
spay/neuter, the second for descenting. These procedures are performed
by veterinary technicians (not qualified vets) at about 3 weeks of age.
Although we have our own opinions on the average
quality and longevity of Marshall Farms ferrets, we do not wish to voice
them here. There has been much debate on how the 'early spay/neuter'
effects their growth and life cycles. Some have even proposed that
illnesses such as insulinoma, adrenal cancer and lymphoma appear much
earlier in life for those ferrets that have been 'fixed' at such a young
age. This debate will probably rage on until cures for all ferret
cancers have been cured.
This page is meant to educate you about the deplorable
business and breeding practices that Marshall Farms follows in order to
bring those 'cute little fuzzies' to your local pet store. We would
hope that after reading this article that you will instead consider adopting
your next ferret from either a qualified and proven breeder or ferret
shelter/rescue. There are many thousands of lovable, adoptable ferrets
in shelters all around the country. Each and every one of them
deserves a 'forever' home where they can be cherished and treated humanely.
The following links are pages posted on other sites
throughout the web. If you have other related articles that you think would
be of interest to ferret owners, please e-mail them to us at: Wuzzles@wuzzles.com
The opinions expressed on these pages do not necessarily reflect those
of 'West Valley Wuzzles'. Any differences of opinion should be
directed to the administrators of those web sites.