Japan: In Hokkaido prefecture, ferrets must be registered with the local government. [62] In other prefectures, no restrictions apply. Australia: It is illegal to keep ferrets as pets in Queensland and the Northern Territory; [46] in the Australian Capital Territory a licence is required. [47]

Ferrets". Pet Health Information. Archived from the original on 3 February 2010 . Retrieved 29 January 2010. Matsuoka, Y.; Lamirande, E. W.; Subbarao, K. (2009). The Ferret Model for Influenza. Vol.Chapter 15. pp.15G.2.1–15G.2.29. doi: 10.1002/9780471729259.mc15g02s13. ISBN 978-0471729259. PMID 19412910. S2CID 43613423. {{ cite book}}: |journal= ignored ( help) Like many other mustelids, ferrets have scent glands near their anus, the secretions from which are used in scent marking. Ferrets can recognize individuals from these anal gland secretions, as well as the sex of unfamiliar individuals. [12] Ferrets may also use urine marking for sex and individual recognition. [13]The next piece of equipment you’ll need is the ferret locater. It’s good practice to use it before taking the ferrets to the hunting ground. You’ll also need a spade to retrieve a ferret when it catches a rabbit below ground. I’d recommend the Bulldog rabbiting spade for the job.

McCosker, Amy; Schremmer, Jessica (24 January 2018). "Ferrets to remain illegal in QLD". ABC News . Retrieved 20 January 2022. Because they share many anatomical and physiological features with humans, ferrets are extensively used as experimental subjects in biomedical research, in fields such as virology, reproductive physiology, anatomy, endocrinology, and neuroscience. [67] Clapperton BK, Minot EO, Crump DR (April 1988). "An Olfactory Recognition System in the Ferret Mustela furo L. (Carnivora: Mustelidae)". Animal Behaviour. 36 (2): 541–553. doi: 10.1016/S0003-3472(88)80025-3. S2CID 53197938.For millennia, the main use of ferrets was for hunting, or "ferreting". With their long, lean build, and inquisitive nature, ferrets are very well equipped for getting down holes and chasing rodents, rabbits and moles out of their burrows. The Roman historians Pliny and Strabo record that Caesar Augustus sent " viverrae" from Libya to the Balearic Islands to control rabbit plagues there in 6BC; it is speculated that " viverrae" could refer to ferrets, mongooses, or polecats. [3] [41] [42] In England, in 1390, a law was enacted restricting the use of ferrets for hunting to the relatively wealthy:

As with skunks, ferrets can release their anal gland secretions when startled or scared, but the smell is much less potent and dissipates rapidly. Most pet ferrets in the US are sold descented (with the anal glands removed). [14] In many other parts of the world, including the UK and other European countries, de-scenting is considered an unnecessary mutilation. Van Den Brand, J. M. A.; Stittelaar, K. J.; Van Amerongen, G.; Rimmelzwaan, G. F.; Simon, J.; De Wit, E.; Munster, V.; Bestebroer, T.; Fouchier, R. A. M.; Kuiken, T.; Osterhaus, A. D. M. E. (2010). "Severity of Pneumonia Due to New H1N1 Influenza Virus in Ferrets is Intermediate between That Due to Seasonal H1N1 Virus and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Virus". Journal of Infectious Diseases. 201 (7): 993–9. doi: 10.1086/651132. PMC 7110095. PMID 20187747.Adrenal disease, a growth of the adrenal glands that can be either hyperplasia or cancer, is most often diagnosed by signs like unusual hair loss, increased aggression, and difficulty urinating or defecating. Treatment options include surgery to excise the affected glands, melatonin or deslorelin implants, and hormone therapy. The causes of adrenal disease speculated to include unnatural light cycles, diets based around processed ferret foods, and prepubescent neutering. It has also been suggested that there may be a hereditary component to adrenal disease. [24] The Ferreter's Tapestry is a 15th-century tapestry from Burgundy, France, now part of the Burrell Collection housed in the Glasgow Museum and Art Galleries. It shows a group of peasants hunting rabbits with nets and white ferrets. This image was reproduced in Renaissance Dress in Italy 1400–1500, by Jacqueline Herald, Bell & Hyman. [72] Michael M. Grynbaum. "De Blasio's Latest Break With His Predecessors: Ending a Ban on Ferrets". Archived from the original on 2014-05-28 . Retrieved 2014-05-27. Latham, Dayle (30 April 2019). "Ferrets: curious and coy". The Canberra Times . Retrieved 20 January 2022.

Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference Gastrointestinal Disease in the Ferret". Archived from the original on 24 April 2014 . Retrieved 24 April 2014. Twelve premolar teeth that the ferret uses to chew food—located at the sides of the mouth, directly behind the canines. The ferret uses these teeth to cut through flesh, using them in a scissors action to cut the meat into digestible chunks. Grynbaum, Michael M. (10 March 2015). "New York's Health Board Dashes the Hopes of Ferret Fans". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015 . Retrieved 11 March 2015. A male ferret is called a hob; a female ferret is a jill. A spayed female is a sprite, a neutered male is a gib, and a vasectomised male is known as a hoblet. Ferrets under one year old are known as kits. A group of ferrets is known as a "business", [4] or historically as a "busyness". Other purported collective nouns, including "besyness", "fesynes", "fesnyng", and "feamyng", appear in some dictionaries, but are almost certainly ghost words. [5] Biology Skull of a ferret Characteristics Ferret profileThe name "ferret" is derived from the Latin furittus, meaning "little thief", a likely reference to the common ferret penchant for secreting away small items. [2] In Old English (Anglo-Saxon), the animal was called mearþ. The word fyret seems to appear in Middle English in the 14th century from the Latin, with the modern spelling of "ferret" by the 16th century. [3] Explore the Database". Mammaldiversity.org. Archived from the original on 2021-06-24 . Retrieved 2021-07-01. Importation of Foxes, Skunks, Raccoons and Ferrets". Pet Imports. Canadian Food Inspection Agency. 2006-03-20. Archived from the original on 2009-03-28 . Retrieved 2006-09-12. In the United States, ferrets were relatively rare pets until the 1980s. A government study by the California State Bird and Mammal Conservation Program estimated that by 1996 about 800,000 domestic ferrets were being kept as pets in the United States. [45] Regulation