Ferrets ran in Mikhanovichi near Minsk and snuggled up to people. How did they end up there?
In late December, residents of Mikhanovichi near Minsk observed an unusual sight: ferrets ran through the streets of the agro-town and eagerly played with passers-by. The publication "Pristalichcha" wrote that the animals were tame and were eventually taken in. However, their origin remained a mystery until their owner appeared, writes Onliner.by.
According to an expert, ferrets are very sociable animals; they easily find food, but they were lucky to stay alive.
The owner couldn't cope with the animals and put them out on the street
The former owner, Alina, appeared in one of the Telegram chats. She said that the ferrets are a pair named Seva and Quinty: the female is four years old, and the male is two years younger.
According to Alina, there were no problems with the pets until she had to move from the Minsk region to Mogilev. The girl then decided to part with the ferrets and placed an ad for their sale online in late November.
The new owner was a resident of Mikhanovichi. Along with the ferrets, Alina also gave him a spacious enclosure. However, a few weeks later, the man informed her that he couldn't cope with the animals and wanted to return them to their former owner. She wasn't against it but refused to return the money. They couldn't reach an agreement, and the new owner simply put the animals out on the street.
Now Seva is in Minsk with new owners. They said that the ferret came to them not in the best condition, but is already recovering. Quinty was taken to another city and given a new nickname – Mila.
It is not yet known if the ferrets will be reunited in the future.
"Ferrets are often abandoned on the street"
We are talking about the ferret — a domesticated form of the European polecat. According to Dmitry Brazinsky, chairman of the public association of ferret enthusiasts "Furius", the animals would not have been without food: most likely they would have survived, but there was still danger for them.
— The ferret is a very social animal. Ferrets will always be where there are people. However, everyone has different characters. For example, they might miss their old owner and in that case, not approach people, but stay somewhere near shops or in entrances — under staircases.
But they would still be drawn to people and start begging for food. It's completely normal for them to stand on their hind legs and show that they want to eat. Moreover, ferrets know perfectly well what dumpsters are. On the other hand, they could have been hit by a car, they could have been attacked by dogs… It's good that they were lucky and stayed alive.
— How often are ferrets abandoned on the street?
— This is quite a frequent occurrence. For example, last week I went to pick up a ferret in Mozyr. The son bought the animal, went to study, and left it with his mother, and the woman didn't need it. The conditions were: either you take it, or it faces euthanasia. Of course, we decided to take it. But in this case, apparently, people simply couldn't agree, and the new owner turned out to be a principled person and put the animals out on the street. In my opinion, it was wrong to act like that.
— For most Belarusians, the ferret still remains an exotic pet. How popular are they in Belarus?
— Ferrets are becoming more common. Initially, our "Furius" ferret enthusiasts' society consisted of about 10 people, and now there are about 60 of us. In the group for those interested in them, there are over 140 participants. There could be more, but we only have one quality breeder. There are others, but there are many questions about them: they don't properly monitor the gene pool, and the ferrets they breed have health problems — tooth loss, fused limbs, etc.
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