April 16, 2010
This Is Kent
DIAMONDS may be a girl's best friend but, in this part
of the country at least, ferrets seem to come a close second.
For according to the first national survey on animals which have been
used to hunt rabbits since the Norman conquest, there are not only more
pet ferret owners in the South East than anywhere else in the country,
but most of them are women.
The survey, by the Ferret Education and Research Trust (FERT), found
that 27 per cent of owners live in the South East, four times as many
as counties like Yorkshire, where ferrets have traditionally been as
much part of life as whippets and flat caps.
And, perhaps inspired by celebrities like Paris Hilton and Madonna,
both of whom have pet ferrets, 61 per cent of them are female. Most keep
two, although one owner admitted to 160.
"I'm not surprised, because they make very good pets," said Jane Davies
of Redpoll Walk, Paddock Wood. "We had a pair for two years, Fred and
Ginger, and they were lovely, really affectionate.
"They lived outside, but we let them in with us in the evenings.
"They would run all over the house or sit on our laps, and they liked
to curl up to sleep among the dusters under the sink."
Local vets also report the growing popularity of ferrets as pets, many
of which are brought in by owners to be neutered.
The most popular varieties are sable, or polecat, ferrets with their
distinctive dark masked eyes. Pink-eyed white albinos are also widely-owned,
plus the silver variety, once popular with night-time poachers because
they showed up in the moonlight.
"They use litter boxes like cats, but you can't let them loose as they
don't have a homing instinct," said Mrs Davies.
"But some people buy harnesses and leads so that they can take them
for walks, and I once saw a woman shopping in Maidstone with a ferret
tucked into her shoulder bag."
However the rise in ferrets' popularity has led to a brisk trade in
stolen animals. Ten from a rare breed were recently taken from a Kent
back garden, and one local breeder refused to give his name or address
for fear of burglars.
For while many are non-working pets, others are still kept for hunting
rabbits and also for betting sports like ferret-racing through drainpipes.
For although there are none left in the wild, these popular cuddly pets
retain the equipment needed for hunting, including sharp teeth, a natural
tendency to dig and a Houdini-like ability to escape. All of which makes
the once popular sport of trying to break time records for keeping a
ferret down your trousers even harder to comprehend.
FERT is holding its fourth National Ferret Day on May 5 to highlight
the needs of domestic ferrets.
Ferrets are domesticated polecats which are related to minks and weasels
With extremely flexible spines and rib cages, they are able to squeeze
through very small gaps and turn round in confined spaces
They can sleep for up to 22 hours a day and are active at dawn and dusk,
their traditional hunting times
Like skunks, ferrets can let off a powerful smell when frightened or
during the mating season to attract females
Most ferrets live between six and 12 years |
