Ferrets As Pets Nz

Ferrets were introduced into new zealand as a natural enemy of rabbits and therefore were expected to provide a benefit to the agriculture industry.

Ferrets as pets nz. Ferrets are not recommended for a household with. Ferrets are what many consider to be a domesticated subspecies of the european polecat a member of the family of mustelids this group includes animals like weasels wolverines otters badgers martens and others. The main food of ferrets is rabbits and. The child must be able to recognize that a ferret behaves differently from a dog cat or other pet.

The ferret is the largest mustelid in new zealand with a body length of 320 mm 460 mm and a tail. The other club the new zealand ferret protection. Ferrets were introduced to new zealand from europe in the 1880s along with stoats. Ferrets were once used to control the wild rabbit population in new zealand resulting in the development of feral ferret colonies.

Aha pet ferret owners will say pouncing on the imagery claws teeth destruction you are talking about a different kettle of ferrets. Ferrets have reduced rabbit numbers in wetter lowland parts of new zealand through predation on juveniles. There are only a few people in new zealand who have a special permit which allows them to keep pet ferrets for hunting rabbits. The child must also be old enough to handle the responsibility of caring for the ferret.

As of 1999 ferrets are legal to keep as pets in new york city. Ferrets history of ferrets in new zealand. For this reason ferrets were made illegal to own breed and sell. Even though ferrets are genetically very similar to the european polecat the actual origin of the domestic ferrets cannot be determined accurately since the exact species we find.

Ferrets used to be kept as pets in new zealand but in 2002 a new law was passed banning the sale distribution and breeding of ferrets. By 1900 ferrets were well established in the wild and played a role in the decline of native birds like the kiwi weka and blue duck and the extinction of kakapo on the mainland.