I have heard alot of bad things about Marshall ferrets being poorly treated, could someone give me proof?

Question

I've heard alot about them mistreating their ferrets in many ways, but I can't believe it until find out myself. I know alot about ferrets, I have 5 myself, and me, my mom & my aunt foster them, but my aunt fosters up to over 30 ferrets at once, which makes her kind of an expert, along with myself. I really want to know the truth, so I'd really appreciate it if someone could show me a site or something that had proof.

Answer 1

I don't know personally if they are mistreated or not, so here's a site with some info on Marshall Farms: http://www.ferretuniverse.com/marshalls/index.asp This place is in no way connected to Marshall's, it's just one person's perspective on the company.

One thing that I know some people have a problem with is that Marshall gives some of the ferrets to scientists for medical research. This does sort of sadden me, but when you think about it, those ferrets that are being sacrificed are the reason why the rest of our ferrets can live longer and receive better treatments. Without that testing, our vets wouldn't be able to learn about ferrets or develop treatments or perform life-saving surgeries.

My biggest problem with Marshall's and ALL big ferret breeders is that the kits are torn away from the mothers at too young of an age and altered at too young of an age. There's no hard proof that this is the cause for some of the problems ferrets deal with later in life, but I really believe it is at least PART of the problem. But, again, it's not only Marshall that does this. When you think about it though, it's really the public to blame for this process. What do most people want when they look for a pet? Babies! Most people want to buy/adopt a baby, not an older animal. Why? Because babies are "cuter" (but if you ask me, adult ferrets are just as cute as the babies). The breeders are in it for the money, so they're just giving the public what they want - cute babies. And because it's better for the ferret's health to be altered (unless you plan on breeding them), the breeder has this done before they leave their hands. So, while I think ferrets should be altered at an older age, I do think the breeders are being responsible when they alter their ferrets before selling them to pet shops. I can't even imagine how many ferrets would die every year because of irresponsible owners not having them altered - how many times do pet owners "forget" to have their pet altered? And if it wouldn't result in a lot of deaths, it would result in a huge over-population of ferrets and ferret shelters would be even more over-crowded than they are now.

Answer 2

Marshall Ferrets

Answer 3

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The ferrets aren't bad, no one is saying that. They are sometimes unhealthy but deserve no less love than any other ferret. The problem with Marshall is the way that they keep their ferrets, kept in tiny unclean conditions and bred back to back until they cannot breed anymore and are killed. Marshall has been under fire from animal activists for a long time because of the abuse ferrets suffer while there. Baby ferrets have been neutered and descented without anesthisia or pain killers, wide awake. Obviously sickly ferrets have been thrown away in trash cans like garbage. It's morally wrong to buy Marshall ferrets because of all that they do, but it is not wrong to adopt a ferret from Marshall from a shelter because the money isn't going to Marshall.

Answer 4

Because they are mass-producing ferrets. If you think puppy mills are bad, the facilities that produce ferrets and other small animals for the pet trade are even worse. They are inbred. And they are spayed/neutered at too young an age, which leads to significant chronic health problems down the road (adrenal disease, insulinoma). The 2 dots on the back of the ear don't necessarily mean that they're a marshall ferret (I'm sure he is though, 90% or more of all ferrets in the US are from marshall farms). It just means he was tattooed, which marshall farms does to indicate that an animal was neutered. That's one indication of how bad an animal mill marshall farms is,they have so many animals and produce so many babies that if they don't tattoo each and every ferret after they spay or neuter them they don't know which ones have been altered and which ones haven't.

Answer 5

I don't know that they are 'poorly treated'. They are in fact (as already stated) ripped away from their moms too early and are spayed and neutered far too early. I guess this could be considered 'poorly treated'. I would say boycott if you are upset about it but the problem is Marshalls is the biggest supplier of ferrets...so...its really hard to avoid. In all honestly no 'ferret farm' is any better. Buying from a breeder or adopting would be the more suitable solution.

Answer 6

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RE:
I have heard alot of bad things about Marshall ferrets being poorly treated, could someone give me proof?
I've heard alot about them mistreating their ferrets in many ways, but I can't believe it until find out myself. I know alot about ferrets, I have 5 myself, and me, my mom & my aunt foster them, but my aunt fosters up to over 30 ferrets at once, which makes her kind of an expert, along with...

Answer 7

I started with Wikipedia, but since many people do not trust that source, I have added others as well.

"The firm has come under criticism from ferret owners who claim that Marshall ferrets are more susceptible to early death from diseases and congenital defects, possibly as a result of inbreeding, genetic issues, and the practice of spaying and neutering animals at too early an age. However, many pet owners and veterinarians are skeptical of these claims, saying they have not observed any marked differences in health and longevity between Marshall ferrets and those of other breeders.

Other criticisms are directed at the health care and living conditions of Marshall Farms' breeding population. Some groups have accused large-scale breeders like Marshall of separating ferret kits from their mothers and sending them to pet shops at too young an age, sometimes before they are fully weaned. As a result, several states have passed laws raising the minimum age of ferrets transported by commercial farms; a petition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture submitted in 2004 seeks to make such regulations applicable nationally.

Animal rights groups such as PETA have attacked Marshall in the past for breeding animals for scientific and medical research. The firm was the subject of an Animal Liberation Front raid in 2001, in which it was claimed that 10 ferrets and 30 beagles were rescued from the complex."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Farms

http://www.wuzzles.com/ferrets/documents/marshall_farms.htm states: "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." It then has links to other sources, including the following:
http://www.ferret-universe.com/marshalls/index.asp
http://www.peta.org/feat/marsh/
(two pages for two other links were not found)

Answer 8

I know two people who work at the breeding facility and have for years. I cannot believe that they are mistreated.
They have had some problems wuth cancer over the years, but I have never heard of any mistreatment at the facility......and if this is coming from PETA, I would REALLY not believe it.