Tumbleweed 1 Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 Went into a petshop today and in a class case with sawdust for bedding was a solitary ferret. It was advertised as a polecat.Not a polecat ferret but just a polecat! It was also being sold for the grand price of 40 quid! Im guessing that the pet shop has been given this ferret as an unwanted pet and the shop;obviously not knowing the first thing about ferrets (they dont even know that it is a ferret) is trying to make a fast buck. As I said,its being kept albeit cleanly,in a fairly large glass case,presumably to keep the stink to a minimum and the poor things got sawdust for bedding which is notoriously bad for ferrets lungs and skin. Like alot of people,they assume keeping a ferret is alot like keeping a hamster or a gerbil because its small and furry. Its all on its own and as you would imagine,bored and desperate to get out. I would of bought it there and then had I had the money. Instead Ive phoned the RSPCA and explained that the shop obviously didnt know the first thing about ferrets and they've notified an officer. The RSPCA also told me to phone the local council and talk to the relevant department about it.Apparently they have their own animal welfare officers and inspectors that oversee pet shop practices. Ive noticed alot more of this sort of thing lately. The other week at a country fair,there was a bloke with about 40 ferrets just selling them to anyone. I bet most of his sales were from parents with kids who just saw a cute furry thing who would probably take it home where it would either escape or bite the kid and then be taken to a petshop or shelter. When Ive sold my kits,Ive had to turn down the occasional friend of one of my kids who want one and told them to go back home and get their parents to buy a book on ferrets first and see what they think afterward. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kay 3,709 Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 To be honest the clowns in fancy dress are only going to be interested if the animal hasn't any drinking water easily accessible.. if the enclosure wasn't cramped or filthy then i really cant see them doing anything .. If you want to be picky then polecats are solitary animals so it having no company is no hardship ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ideation 8,217 Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 To be honest the clowns in fancy dress are only going to be interested if the animal hasn't any drinking water easily accessible.. if the enclosure wasn't cramped or filthy then i really cant see them doing anything .. If you want to be picky then polecats are solitary animals so it having no company is no hardship ... But polecat ferrets are not. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kay 3,709 Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 To be honest the clowns in fancy dress are only going to be interested if the animal hasn't any drinking water easily accessible.. if the enclosure wasn't cramped or filthy then i really cant see them doing anything .. If you want to be picky then polecats are solitary animals so it having no company is no hardship ... But polecat ferrets are not. you mean a hybrid ? or a polecat coloured ferret Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ideation 8,217 Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 To be honest the clowns in fancy dress are only going to be interested if the animal hasn't any drinking water easily accessible.. if the enclosure wasn't cramped or filthy then i really cant see them doing anything .. If you want to be picky then polecats are solitary animals so it having no company is no hardship ... But polecat ferrets are not. you mean a hybrid ? or a polecat coloured ferret The latter. Confusing this is it not? (Yoda moment) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chimp 299 Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 so let me get this right, you grassed up a pet shop to the rspca as it was in sawdust? why not just tell them in your eyes sawdust isnt the best thing. the joke is that you have said it was kept in good conditions what is it with the grasses on this site Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shepp 2,285 Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 Ferrets are not really happy alone, they have changed a lot in there 1000 years of domestication. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chimp 299 Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 lots of petshops have display areas but at end of trading put them in adaquate sleeping quarters Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tumbleweed 1 Posted September 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 If it had been a small privatly run petshop I would of just told the owner but this is a big place. Its a petshop and garden center with the obligatory bored youths running everything and which obviously makes a shite load of profit. It also says on their website thats its run by knowledgeable staff.I grassed them up becouse theyre big enough to know better and they need educating in ferret welfare. If it had been a puppy in that same situation,the public would of been up in arms about it straight away.Its the general ignorance concerning ferrets that I have the issue with,which would be fine if ignorant petshops werent selling them to the iggnorant public as if they were gerbils. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bradaz2009 9 Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 ferrets are not hard to keep and i was just gonna say i used to keep ferrets with sawdust but to you i better not ringing the arsepca instead of having the balls to say summat your a snake you then braggin about it on here so if you only keep one ferret your doing wrong are you dogs are pack animals so if someone only keeps one there in the wrong are they Quote Link to post Share on other sites
droid 11 Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 'Grasser'..... This place is like a bloody school playground sometimes. Why don't you lot grow up? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lurchergrrl 1,441 Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 I'd have spoken to the management about it first. I would've maybe even contacted a ferret welfare group to have them get in touch with the shop if I was that concerned. Last folks I would call is the rspca - shower of b@stards. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hob&Jill 258 Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 Whats wrong with sawdust/wood shavings for bedding? Its all i use in the summer... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lord of the fens 23 Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 Whats wrong with sawdust/wood shavings for bedding? Its all i use in the summer... Was wondering that one myself.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tb25 4,627 Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 and me? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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