There are various myths surrounding my kind. I will discuss a few of them and try to dispel them in your mind.
First is the myth that ferrets are prone to biting and have rabies. Center for Disease Control (CDC) conducted a study over a ten-year period on various animal bites in the U.S. This study was then published in the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association. Over the ten years there were 1 to 3 million dog bites and only 65 ferret bites. When you correct this statistic for size it means that there were 8.8 bites per 10,000 dogs and .2 bites per 10,000 ferrets. That means that dogs are over 200 times more likely to bite than ferrets. Furthermore, of all the reported cases with children and ferret bites, there was evidence to suggest parental neglect as the root cause of the ferret hurting the child. Two-legged pets should never leave their young alone with any animal, no matter how domesticated or small. Also, people fear that ferrets have rabies. According to data from the CDC, between 1984 and 1985, there were only 10 rabid ferrets. Of these, one is a possible error in diagnosis and two used questionable testing methods. Compare the number of rabid ferrets with the following: 24 rabid humans, 701 rabid horses, 2240 rabid dogs, 2310 rabid cats, and 3395 rabid cattle. This means that you have only .0004% chance of being bitten by a rabid ferret.
Another myth is that ferrets are wild animals. As I mentioned in the section title "Ferret History", ferrets have been domesticated for thousands of years. They are not wild animals. In fact, if a pet ferret got loose, they would not survive more for than a few days. Part of the myth stems for two legged pets confusing the domesticated ferret with the Black-Footed Ferret. Although they are cousins of each other, they are two completely different species. Another aspect of the myth comes from the misconception that ferrets are rodents. Ferrets are members of the weasel family. They are not cousins to rats or mice.
Us ferrets have been accused of hunting poultry. To the best of my knowledge and research, there has never been a documented case, history record or issue related to a stray hungry ferret snatching a chicken. Never in the history of anywhere in the world, have we been used to hunt birds. Ferrets are often thought of as predators and thus vicious with tendencies to bite. A ferret�s temperament is dependent upon its handling as a young ferret, or kit. If we are handled often, loved, and taken care off, then we will be loving and loyal back. |
