If you own a ferret in the United States, there’s a good chance your ferret has been descented. If your pet came from a professional breeder then it’s almost certain that this has happened, perhaps without your awareness, before you even take ownership.
Is this a good thing and are you even aware of what it means, both to you and your ferret?
In short, descenting is the removal of glands around the ferret’s anus, which are there to give the ferret a natural form of defense. They use these glands to emit a small puff of scent, like a skunk but less stinky. Ferrets do this when they feel threatened or scared.
Now, it’s not the most pleasant thing ferrets do, but it’s there to keep them safe and it’s the kind of thing ferrets only do if they feel they have to.
If you own a ferret in other parts of the world you may be more familiar with this phenomenon, as it’s often considered cruel to descent a ferret, when it is a pet. Why is this?
Vets in Europe, and elsewhere, don’t like to perform the descenting procedure, as it’s quite invasive and difficult- which would be fine if it was a life saving operation. The fact that this procedure is there to remove a defense, that ferrets only use if they feel uncomfortable, makes it more difficult for them to justify it.
The odor will start to go away after a few minutes too, so it’s not even on the same level of severity as a skunk’s spray. As a result I tend to question why the procedure is so popular in the United States.
More importantly, I think it’s important to raise awareness of this practice, which tends to happen not long after birth. Shouldn’t it be down to individual choice, rather than something that’s done by default?
My theory is that we’ve become too caught up in the idea of proving that ferrets don’t smell bad. So much so that we are keen to eradicate anything that could see our precious pets accused of stinkyness.
The fact is that if a ferret lets off a scent spray, something’s gone wrong- it’s an indicator that can’t be ignored easily. I wonder if we’d see less biting from ferrets if they were more often allowed to spray as a first line of defense. It’s a thorny issue, for sure, and it’s one that I raise so that ferret owners can become more aware of practices that some might find cruel and unnecessary.
In my opinion, awareness and involvement in decisions creates responsible pet owners. I’d hope you agree, even if you think descenting is the right way to go.
