The Angora Ferret is bred almost exclusively in Denmark by breeder Soren Thingaard. These ferrets have much longer hair, two to four inches, than standard ferrets, and they tend to be larger animals, weighing up to seven pounds. Angoras also have no undercoat, an extra nose fold, and hair that grows in or on the nose. Their nose is more pointed and turned up than those of regular ferrets.

More Intelligent Than Other Breeds?

Angora ferrets are beloved by their owners and reported to be even more intelligent and easier to train than standard ferrets. Their lack of an undercoat seems to make the angoras more susceptible to cold weather. Angoras are rumored to be hardier than standard ferrets and less likely to develop problems such as adrenal disease and insuloma. However, with their long hair, they are more prone to hairballs and intestinal obstruction, so these ferrets must be brushed every day.

Though Soren Thingaard is by far the largest angora ferret breeder in the world, with his animals being imported to the United States solely by Parrots of the World in New York, there are a few small scale breeders in the United States and Sweden, including Carolina Ferrets in North Carolina.

How They Began

The angora ferret started as a mutation discovered among standard ferrets at a Swedish breeding operation. Certain ferrets were showing longer hair growth. This stock was sold to a Norwegian farm, and through generations of breeding, using these longer-haired ferrets as a base, the angora was created. Unfortunately, along with the traits that make an angora wonderful, traits have developed that make breeding them difficult. The biggest problem is that purebred angora females are not able to produce the milk necessary to feed their young. On breeding farms, surrogate ferret mothers are usually needed to feed angora kits.

Another Swedish farm bred the angora females from Norway to polecats, strengthening the angora breed. In 1997, Thingaard bought almost the entire stock from the Swedish farm and continued working with the angora ferret line. He now breeds more than a thousand angora kits per year, strengthening the angora genetics by breeding in standard ferrets as necessary. However, there is some concern over whether the breeding of angora ferrets will continue. Thingaard has been convicted at least once for animal abuses and has been charged with repeat offenses, namely for cramped and unhealthy conditions of ferrets and other animals on his breeding farm.

An angora ferret is already difficult to get and may become even more rare if Thingaard’s operation is closed in Denmark. If you can find an angora, be prepared to pay significantly more for it than standard ferrets, and possibly pay a large shipping fee as well.