Welcome!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
The Fellowship has reached a milestone. We are celebrating 10 years of activity in February with our Anniversary Party Sunday, February 12. This year we have a new location. Dr. Ritzman has graciously offered us the conference room at the Cascade Hospital for Animals in Grand Rapids. The address is 6730 Cascade Road SE, Grand Rapids MI. The Party starts at 1PM. It’s a good time!
For just a little bit of history, I dug out Senate Bill 616 – A Bill To Amend Michigan’s Current Rabies Policy For Ferrets aka Support the Kodo Protection Act. It gives a really comprehensive “History of Ferrets”.
“Although the domestic ferret arrived in the Americas in the first sailing ships, the major importation of ferrets began around the turn of the century in Ohio. Here, in what became known as ‘Ferretville’, domestic ferrets were bred for their fur and for rodent control in ships, barns and silos. Soon farmers began using the clever, flexible animals for hunting rabbits. Muzzled, the ferret was sent down the rabbit holes to chase the terrified rabbits out into waiting nets. This teaming arrangement became so efficient that hunters (now required to pay a fee for their hunting licenses) fearing that ‘their’ rabbits would be hunted to extinction, lobbied hard against the use of ferrets and eventually won major victories by having ferret hunting made illegal. It became easier to prohibit ownership of the ferret than to stop their use in hunting, so ownership became illegal in many states.”
From the July/August 2006 FERRETS magazine, I found this article with Marc Morrone:
“When asked about the beginning of ferret popularity, his first comments focused on Dr. Wendy Winstead. “She changed the entire world.” Morrone proclaimed. Ferrets went from being a stinky animal kept in a hutch in the back yard to an interactive indoor pet thanks to her, he said. In the ‘70’s Winstead was a veterinary student in New York City and had a de-scented pet skunk. She bought ferrets from a breeder, de-scented them herself and kept them as pets. The breeder, Marshall’s, then began de-scent the ferrets, as did Path Valley Farms. Not many years after this, the 1982 movie The Beastmaster featured ferrets. Morrone believes the combination of newfound compatibility due to the de-scenting and the cuteness shown in the movie gave rise to a ferret craze.”
Now I’m going to narrow the history down to Michigan. I gleaned this from a Great Lakes Ferret Association Membership Application:
“The GLFA was established in March of 1992 by a small group of people who had been working toward the legalization of the domestic ferret in Michigan since 1989. Opposition by all concerned agencies was formidable. Undaunted by two previous failed bills, the GLFA secured a new sponsor, Rep. Lynn Owen, and HB 4495 was born. By the time this bill was introduced in the House committee, the GLFA had over 200 members who seemed to be everywhere distributing literature, answering questions and garnering names on petitions. By then agreements had been reached with all concerned agencies, thanks to and incredible library of data provided by FURO (The Ferret Unity & Registration Organization). In September of ’94 the spark of public sympathy ignited by the GLFA became a veritable firestorm of phone calls, faxes, petitions, letters and E-mail requesting passage of the ferret bill. HB4495 passed the Senate by unanimous vote on December 8th. By December 22nd Governor Engler had signed out bill into law.”
The Great Lakes Ferret Association continued to exist until December 2001 due to dissension among the membership. A handful of us left the club in November 2001 and formed the Midwest Ferret Fellowship February 16, 2002. We had our first MFF Faire in 2004 in Wixom, skipped a year for lack of a location and then started back up with our Faires in Grand Rapids in 2006. This year will be our 8th show which, by the way, will be Saturday, September 15, 2012, at the Knights Inn/Grand Inn.
So that’s how we got from there to here, celebrating 10 years of the MFF because of our mutual love for our beloved ferrets. We appreciate your “Friendship” and everything you’ve done to keep our Fellowship thriving so we can continue with our mission “To educate and promote awareness of domesticated ferrets as companion pets”.
Here’s to a promising 2012!
Take care,
Dee Gage
President
The Fellowship has reached a milestone. We are celebrating 10 years of activity in February with our Anniversary Party Sunday, February 12. This year we have a new location. Dr. Ritzman has graciously offered us the conference room at the Cascade Hospital for Animals in Grand Rapids. The address is 6730 Cascade Road SE, Grand Rapids MI. The Party starts at 1PM. It’s a good time!
For just a little bit of history, I dug out Senate Bill 616 – A Bill To Amend Michigan’s Current Rabies Policy For Ferrets aka Support the Kodo Protection Act. It gives a really comprehensive “History of Ferrets”.
“Although the domestic ferret arrived in the Americas in the first sailing ships, the major importation of ferrets began around the turn of the century in Ohio. Here, in what became known as ‘Ferretville’, domestic ferrets were bred for their fur and for rodent control in ships, barns and silos. Soon farmers began using the clever, flexible animals for hunting rabbits. Muzzled, the ferret was sent down the rabbit holes to chase the terrified rabbits out into waiting nets. This teaming arrangement became so efficient that hunters (now required to pay a fee for their hunting licenses) fearing that ‘their’ rabbits would be hunted to extinction, lobbied hard against the use of ferrets and eventually won major victories by having ferret hunting made illegal. It became easier to prohibit ownership of the ferret than to stop their use in hunting, so ownership became illegal in many states.”
From the July/August 2006 FERRETS magazine, I found this article with Marc Morrone:
“When asked about the beginning of ferret popularity, his first comments focused on Dr. Wendy Winstead. “She changed the entire world.” Morrone proclaimed. Ferrets went from being a stinky animal kept in a hutch in the back yard to an interactive indoor pet thanks to her, he said. In the ‘70’s Winstead was a veterinary student in New York City and had a de-scented pet skunk. She bought ferrets from a breeder, de-scented them herself and kept them as pets. The breeder, Marshall’s, then began de-scent the ferrets, as did Path Valley Farms. Not many years after this, the 1982 movie The Beastmaster featured ferrets. Morrone believes the combination of newfound compatibility due to the de-scenting and the cuteness shown in the movie gave rise to a ferret craze.”
Now I’m going to narrow the history down to Michigan. I gleaned this from a Great Lakes Ferret Association Membership Application:
“The GLFA was established in March of 1992 by a small group of people who had been working toward the legalization of the domestic ferret in Michigan since 1989. Opposition by all concerned agencies was formidable. Undaunted by two previous failed bills, the GLFA secured a new sponsor, Rep. Lynn Owen, and HB 4495 was born. By the time this bill was introduced in the House committee, the GLFA had over 200 members who seemed to be everywhere distributing literature, answering questions and garnering names on petitions. By then agreements had been reached with all concerned agencies, thanks to and incredible library of data provided by FURO (The Ferret Unity & Registration Organization). In September of ’94 the spark of public sympathy ignited by the GLFA became a veritable firestorm of phone calls, faxes, petitions, letters and E-mail requesting passage of the ferret bill. HB4495 passed the Senate by unanimous vote on December 8th. By December 22nd Governor Engler had signed out bill into law.”
The Great Lakes Ferret Association continued to exist until December 2001 due to dissension among the membership. A handful of us left the club in November 2001 and formed the Midwest Ferret Fellowship February 16, 2002. We had our first MFF Faire in 2004 in Wixom, skipped a year for lack of a location and then started back up with our Faires in Grand Rapids in 2006. This year will be our 8th show which, by the way, will be Saturday, September 15, 2012, at the Knights Inn/Grand Inn.
So that’s how we got from there to here, celebrating 10 years of the MFF because of our mutual love for our beloved ferrets. We appreciate your “Friendship” and everything you’ve done to keep our Fellowship thriving so we can continue with our mission “To educate and promote awareness of domesticated ferrets as companion pets”.
Here’s to a promising 2012!
Take care,
Dee Gage
President
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