A RESCUE centre has been swamped
with unwanted pet ferrets because cash-strapped families can no longer
afford to keep them.
Lincolnshire Ferret Rescue, based
in Grimsthorpe, near Bourne, is currently looking after 35 of the unusual
furry pets - more than six times as many as it normally cares for at
this time of year.
Julie Stoodley, who has run the centre for 10 years, said: "The demand for
ferrets as pets has increased in the last few years because they are still
quite unusual and make fantastic pets.
"They are like kittens all their lives and very sociable and playful, and are
great with children.
"That means there have been a lot of unwanted pregnancies as not all ferrets
have been neutered.
"We have also had a lot of ferrets come to us because families have not been
able to afford to look after them properly.
"It all means that we have had more animals come to us than we have seen in previous
years, and we really need homes for them.
"The breeding season starts at the end of February, and we are worried that we
will have even more come in soon."
The ferrets at the centre include a family of 11 babies and their mother who
were found abandoned in Peterborough and two ferrets left in a cardboard box
outside McDonald's, in Spalding.
They are now all looking for loving new homes.
The centre takes ferrets from all over Lincolnshire, Peterborough and parts
of Nottinghamshire, and all of the animals the centre looks after are micro-chipped
and neutered.
Mrs Stoodley said: "They are not hard animals to look after. They need a cage
at least four foot square and are carnivores, but there are special ferret
food biscuits that are easily available, and we give them a bit of cooked chicken
as a treat.
"They are clean animals and are not vicious at all. All our ferrets are checked
to make sure they are suitable for people's homes.
"Ferrets are suitable for a house where people are out working during the day.
"They are very interactive, so we normally try and ensure that homes can take
two ferrets so they have company."
Justin Stubbs, from the
RSPCA,
added: "People are just not adopting ferrets at the moment, and more and more
are being dumped."
For more information, visit
www.lincsferretrescue.co.uk.
