Ferret history is quite a long story. Though the ferret has only really taken off as a popular pet in the last couple of decades, this animal has a history of domestication with humans that goes back three thousand years, to Egypt, Rome and early Europe.
Throughout ferret history, people have mistaken them for rodents. They are actually mustelids, the mammal family that includes weasels, minks, ermines, otters, skunks and the endangered black footed ferret. While some of these other animals can be captured young and raised as pets, ferrets are completely domesticated animals, even more so than cats. Cats can survive on their own in the world because they are adept hunters, but the instinct for killing and eating their own food has been bred out of ferrets entirely.
Ferrets As Working Animals
Ferrets have been working animals rather than pets for most of domestic ferret history. They are wonderful hunting tools, used to chase rabbits out of their underground homes. Hunters particularly favored the albino ferrets, as did royalty, so a lot of attention went into breeding healthy, strong white animals. Albino ferrets are an oddity of the animal world, where white coloring is generally not a desirable trait.
In The USA
Ferret history in the United States shows the animals being used to control rats on ships and around grain storage silos, mainly by their natural strong odor. Ferrets have also been used in laboratory experiments and research. There are still many used in lab settings, and there are ferreters using the animals for rabbit hunting in some areas.
Increasing Popularity
Throughout ferret history, there have always been some kept as pets. One of the biggest reasons for their sudden increase in popularity has been de-scenting. Ferrets, like skunks and other members of the mustelid family, have glands beneath their tails that emit a strong musky odor, particularly in males. Though people had long since figured out that skunks could be de-scented, it wasn’t until the late 1970s that a ferret-lover, Dr. Wendy Winstead, thought to try de-scenting ferrets. Winstead perfected the procedure of de-scenting young ferrets, including neutering the males to eliminate their odor.
She traveled to breeders and farms throughout the United States to teach her method. Once these new and improved ferrets hit pet stores, people realized a non-stinky ferret made an excellent pet. Now all ferrets are sold de-scented, and most are also neutered or spayed before they arrive at the pet store
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