by debferret

Dramatic Rescue of 86 Breeder Ferrets in 2025

The Manitoba Ferret Association No Kill Shelter Executive would like to give a detailed account of the recent intake of 86 retired breeding ferrets from Dave Holden; the Melita breeder accused of running a ferret mill.

*You are welcome to Google the expose by Animal Justice.

I (Deb) have had ongoing contact with Dave H. for the last 15, maybe 20 years. He would occasionally reach out to our shelter see if we would take some unsold ferrets to re-home. He was always pleasant and accommodating. When COVID hit, Dave was in touch with me expressing concerns that he wasn’t able to sell his baby ferrets and asking for tips on how to reach the local markets and internet sites. Honestly, I wasn’t much help other than providing a sympathetic ear.

Dave continued to struggle with his sales and in the fall of 2024 he contacted me asking how he could advertise “his operation/his herd” for sale. He couldn’t really afford to keep going and was looking for a buyer. He advertised on Kijiji and elsewhere on line. Again I was not much help. Dave kept saying he didn’t want to euthanize all the ferrets. He really wanted to find a buyer; he was going broke taking care of them.

He phoned me telling me 2 young men were coming out and were interested in buying his operation. He was happy and relieved. As we now know, it was 2 men from Animal Justice who mislead Dave to access his operation and secretly film his operation. Animal Justice filed a complaint against Dave and his operation. *As of February 2026; over a year now since the complaint was made and we have not heard that the case has been resolved/closed.*

The Provincial Vet came to his place based on the complaint filed by Animal Justice. I want to make note at this point to say that as of September 25th, 2025; 9 months after the fact, not one ferret has been removed by the Provincial Vet. Dave’s cages and barn are in need of repair; that is a fact. Dave can not properly care for so many ferrets since his only employee died during COVID. Dave knows he has to cut back on his numbers since he can’t seem to find a buyer for his stock.

OK, so you have the general overview.

The MFA has never gone on record to speak out against Dave. Why? Because we wanted to work with Dave to have him release ferrets to us. It was more important to save some ferrets than to condemn him. There is always 2 sides to a situation. I had built a rapport and respect with Dave. On January 21, 2025, we took in 14 intact males. We agreed to pay for the neutering and Distemper vaccines from his vet. These boys were scheduled to be euthanized as Dave couldn’t afford to keep feeding his excess unsold stock. These boys were just past 6 months old and had never really been socialized. Kerry and Fred stepped up to come over and do some socializing of these boys. Then we received another 12 boys, 7 months old; again, unsold excess stock. That’s the first 26 ferrets retired to us.

26 Handsome, nippy boys. To see them come out to play and run through tubes, splash in water dishes and just be ferrets was worth all the fear bites and blood letting Kerry and Fred dealt with. We advertised within our membership for homes for these boys. They needed experience ferret owners and the continued contact and support of the shelter. Most were placed. Not going to lie; several of our Executive stepped up and adopted more than one to give them loving homes. It became dangerous to drop in to my place and “look see” at the available boys! I am happy and grateful that all these boys have loving homes.

Meanwhile Dave decided to release more ferrets to us and we were able to accept them only because the Connecticut Ferret Rescue had publicly offered to financially help reduce his numbers. Vanessa from the Connecticut rescue started networking on US shelters that would be willing to take on retired male and female breeding stock. In May we took in 5 retired females just coming out of season needing to be spayed. We took in 20 intact males. I love the aroma of ferret but 20 intact males were pushing the limit lol. The males were slowly coming out of rut; thank goodness as it made it easier to handle them. Kerry and Fred sustained many hard bites and I kept a supply of Band-Aids on hand. 50 ferrets in the house! Paul and Dana were able to bring us wood pellets by the truck load. If you came to visit; you were asked (ok, I begged) to take home a bag of poop to throw in your garbage can as mine was full days before garbage pick-up!

Just a quick note here to state that although there is no limit on the number of ferrets you can have in your home; 50 ferrets is not a manageable number long term. This was a 4 to 6 week window of caring for them and it was exhausting work. As a main foster/shelter space I had the space, the cages, the food, litter and most importantly the help to manage it.

It was amazing how quickly most of the ferrets became socialized. The logistics of transporting ferrets across the border was complicated. Vanessa made most of the arrangements and she made it look easy, but we all know how much work goes on behind the scenes. Vanessa had a contact within Grant Park Animal Hospital and she was able to negotiate with them to do a Wellness Exam, give them each a Distemper and Rabies Vaccine and provide a Health Certificate in order for them to cross the border. Our job was to get said 25 ferrets to the Clinic. Kerry, Fred and I managed to pull it off without a hitch! 24 ferrets crossed the border without any issues. One of the little girls had a stroke and she spent her last 3 days being cared for and loved by Kerry and Amber. She got to know love, soft blankets and tasty soupies. Chicago Ferret Rescue was instrumental in taking in and arranging for spaying and neutering. Several of the girls made it as far as Connecticut to Vanessa’s place. It should be mentioned that the breeding females weren’t in good physical health. They had very poor/rotten teeth from eating a mush. Bear in mind these girls were just 3 years old and “spent”. Just like the mink farms, the mush is plopped on the top of the wire cages and the ferrets have to pull the mush down through the bars. The boys had only slightly better teeth; slightly!! That is the nature of any large-scale breeding operation and it is not acceptable.

If you have followed us on Facebook or follow Connecticut Ferret Rescue; you will see how everyone pulled together to give these ferrets freedom to be ferrets!

On August 15th, Dave agreed to turn over another 20 intact males and 4 females coming out of season. So, the process started all over again. Vanessa worked her magic! She reached out to VI FERT—Vancouver Island Ferret Education and Rescue Team. (VI FERT is now known as the BC Ferret Rescue Society). Cheryl agreed to take 9 males. Unfortunately, the Calgary Rescue—FRES was full and unable to take any ferrets. The Ottawa ferret rescue was drowning in surrendered ferrets and was transporting theirs to Atlantic Canada rescue. So once again, Vanessa networked and found a couple of US rescues that had room for the Canadian ferrets! Ferret Dreams Rescue and Frisco’s Friends Ferret Rescue.

Through this whole process, I was amazed at how supportive our US Shelters were in helping save Canadian ferrets. Politics aside, the ferret community is an incredible group of people who know they may not be able to save them all, but by God, we will save as many as we can.

This new group needed their Wellness Exam, Rabies Vaccine and Health Certificates. Fred and I had given the group their Distemper Vaccines from the donated supply left over from the initial group seen at Grant Park Animal Hospital. So, in tandem, Kerry, Fred and I went to Grant Park Animal Hospital. This time, they neutered the 9 boys going to BC. The other 15 ferrets will have their spays and neuters done in the US where it was being covered by some wonderful vets. (I don’t have all the info to thank specific folks)

*Before anyone questions why we didn’t use our own wonderful vet clinic (Henderson Animal Hospital); I inquired but was told this was too massive an undertaking for them and by then Vanessa had secured a vet clinic and seeing as she was paying the bill; I respected her arrangement. The staff at Grant Park Animal Hospital were excellent. Welcoming our stinky, nippy bunch and so very glad to be able to help save these ferrets. **Grant Park Animal Hospital has continued to offer their services to our shelter as needed and we are very grateful to have vet clinics that are available to support our shelter needs.

On Wednesday; Kerry gave up family vacation time and made the long trip to meet up with Cheryl and Christine from VI_FERT in Calgary. Calgary supported our ferret rescue by hosting the 2 teams as that ferrets and humans could get a well deserved sleep before completing their journeys the next morning.

The following Friday, yup you guessed it. Kerry with a co-driver this time; hats off to Dan who raced around the city between Tuesday and the following Wednesday to get his Passport updated! Off they went ; driving across the border to meet up with Don Haney and his daughter from Frisco’s Friends Ferret Rescue . The group met in Rapid City South Dakota. It took them 13 hours to get there. They unloaded and headed straight home. They were exhausted by the time they came to my place to drop off the travel cages and for Dan to pick up his car. 26 hours of non stop driving! What an incredible job they did!

So, to date we have taken in 26 young adoptable boys, re-homed 8 breeding females and 40 intact males. Gave the little girl named Nova 2 of the best weeks of her life playing and just being a ferret and 3 days of around the clock love before she gained her wings.

I am very proud of what the Manitoba Ferret Association No Kill Shelter has accomplished. We did the unthinkable; re-homing 74 ferrets that would have been euthanized.

Then on Sunday, September 28th, Dave texted that his friend was coming to Winnipeg and bringing 12 intact males if I wanted them? Save another 12, I said YES! Dave was very angry with all the bad publicity and had said he wasn’t going to work with us anymore. I’m glad that he chose to reach out to us.

Timing is everything! Paul has just delivered another 15 bags of wood pellets. I still had 3 full bags of Kirkland food. Just needed to rope Fred and Kerry in for more socializing! Vanessa from Connecticut Rescue was informed and she is networked to get shelters in the US to take this group.

Grant Park Animal Hospital has once again stepped up to help with the vaccines and paperwork! We took pictures of most of the ferrets that came into care and we took some videos too. We uploaded them all to our FLCK account for viewing. Way too many to include in this post.

We did rack up some hefty costs taking in these ferrets. The only reason that was possible was because of a silent donor who gifted us some funds. That being said, we still need replenish the funds in case Dave decides to release more ferrets into our care. We will keep saving the breeding stock and unsold adolescent ferrets until all the shelters say no to taking in any more.

If you would like to help us financially, you can send your donation by E-Transfer to

manitobaferrets@gmail.com. Please identify funds in message as “support for retired ferrets

01.15.22

by debferret

Oil Based Supplements for your Ferret!

2021 saw the loss of a long standing ferret supplement distributed by 8 & 1 called Ferretone. There is a product distributed by Marshall’s called Furretone but many ferret owners found it too expensive or choose not to support Marshall products.

The hunt was on at the shelter to find an economical supplement. Flax seed oil is a good product but must be refrigerated. I couldn’t use it as I leave my bottle on the counter and it would be a pain to always be opening the fridge. Never mind the ice cold Fax seed oil drizzled on the ferret’s tummy!!I choose not to use Cod Liver oil because of the controversary over the vitamin A content. I couldn’t find any scientific data to prove its safety.

Next on the list was Olive Oil. Olive oil has great anti-inflammatory properties and doesn’t need to be refrigerated. All my ferrets turned their collective noses up at it. Go figure. Even when I cut it with Canola oil, they turned away from the dish.

The next supplement on my list to try was the Grizzly Brand Wild Salmon oil. With over 30 ferrets in my home, I choose the 32 oz bottle and just about had a heart attack when I saw the price. Most of the ferrets liked the taste, but again, the salmon oil had to be kept refrigerated and I kept forgetting to take it out of the fridge with each group coming out to play. My tummy did not like the salmon smell and instead of getting used to it, I started to gag when I used it. So, plan B was to “cut” it with canola oil to make it smell less bad. It sort of worked but I was still struggling with keeping it in the fridge. I left one small bottle out in the shelter room and hoped I would use it up before it had a chance to spoil. Well, it went rancid quicker than I thought! Lesson learnt.

I was in Pet Value looking to pick up a ball for my golden retriever Tucker, when I saw the Thrive brand of supplements. I read the label. Herring Oil! Same great omega fatty acids as the Salmon oil; however, the herring oil did not need refrigeration!!! Eureka. I bought a bottle to try on the ferrets. They loved it. An added bonus was that it wasn’t as fishy smelling and I was no longer gagging. The price point was much much better than the salmon oil and the shelter could easily afford it. I later found out that the Thrive Brand carries a Salmon Oil as well, but again it has to be refrigerated. I’ll stick with the Herring Oil.

I dropped in to Best West where I purchase my dog food and the shelter’s Go Chicken with Grains Cat food. I noticed they have their own brand of Salmon oil at a much better price point than the Grizzly Brand. Their brand has to be refrigerated too.

Last but not least, our vet clinic, Henderson Animal Hospital carries an omega fatty acid nutritional supplement. Our vet suggested we try it on a long term shelter ferret named Lucy. Lucy was acting as if she had Parkinson’s. She was shaking all the time. Her physical ruled out everything. We put Lucy on the supplement and within 2 weeks she was shaking half the amount of time. Our vet recommended we give it to her every 12 hours and within another 2 weeks, she was and is still symptom free. If you have an old and or sick ferret, the Vetoquinol care nutritional supplement may be your best option. Do check with your vet before giving it to your ferret.

There are lots of choices out there. You have to choose the supplement that works for you and your ferrets. I am sure that I have missed some options. If you have one to recommend to us, drop us an email at manitobaferrets@gmail.com.

09.08.21

by debferret

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES FOR FERRETS???

Easy answer, NEVER!

First time ferret owners sometimes do lots of research on housing and play toys but neglect to do enough research on their ferret’s diet requirements.

Ferrets are carnivores; look at those sharp pointy canine teeth. Carnivore means meat eater. Meat, meat, meat!

Folks often choose a kibble diet for the convenience. When choosing a ferret kibble for your ferret, you can go with Marshall Ferret Diet or Totally Ferret. You should always have a mixture of two foods. This 50/50 mixture ensures that your ferret can adjust to any changes in one of the foods. Some folks go so far as using a 3 way mix. Ferrets imprint on their food source early in life and it can be nearly impossible to transition them to a new food.

There are only a few high protein cat foods that are suitable for your ferrets kibble mixture. I will only list one food as an example. I want to stress that you should be checking your ingredient list on a regular basis. Manufacturers update on a regular basis and what was once may be a good food for ferrets can become a bad food for ferrets.

Here is a very simple list of must haves:

first 3 proteins ingredients must be meat. Corn is a plant protein and often used to up the protein levels.

no peas, pea powder, legumes, none, nada, no exceptions. Peas are used as a filler and it causes bladder stones in our ferrets; can be fatal for our male ferrets.

try to choose a food with carbohydrates that have a lower glycemic number; tapioca is the best source. Ferrets on a high carbohydrate diet may experience blood sugar issues. The ferret body is not meant to process carbs. Rice is a second choice. Do your own research for more in depth information on carbs and Insulinoma in ferrets.

Under the Precentages:

32 – 40 % protein

20% fat content, check the percentages list

Crude Fiber 1.5% to 3.5% – DO NOT USE A FOOD WITH HIGHER FIBER NUMBERS. This is often overlooked but a food with high fiber is dangerous for ferrets.

So now let’s look at a ferret and cat kibble that the shelter uses; how does it meet the above requirements?

Marshall Premium Ferret Diet lists 38% protein, fat 18% and crude fiber 3.5%. first 3 ingredients are meat, and no peas or legumes.

GO Skin & Coat care Chicken Recipe With Grains. Never buy the Go Chicken Grain Free – it has peas.

32% protein (lower protein level required for our senior ferrets), fat 20% and crude fiber 2.5%. first 3 proteins are meat, and no peas or legumes. they use rice and oatmeal.

If you are choosing to feed a raw meat diet, please, please do in depth research. You can’t just feed a chicken breast and think they are getting all the nutrients they need. I am not an expert on the raw diet so I won’t advise on how to do it.

I embrace the best of both worlds. I recommend that your ferrets have a premium kibble mixture available 24/7; and please don’t drizzle oil over the kibble. It will make the kibble go rancid and you will be wasting a lot of food. Make one meal a day a cooked meat or raw meat meal. After a ferret got a blockage from grizzle, I recommend putting your raw meat through a grinder. I personally use cooked meats.

*Throw away those store bought treats and make your own. Cook a chicken breast and cube it. Tiny cooked meatballs are fun. Raw egg once a week. There are lots of ways to get whole protein into your ferret without carbs. Even canned wet cat food without carbs is good.

So, notice I didn’t mention any fruits. My girlfriend let her ferret steal a small grape. Two days later her lethargic ferret was rushed to the vet. A blockage! The grape skin didn’t break down and it cost her $1200.00 to remove. lesson learned.

No veggies? A member was feeding his ferret bits of carrot. One “bit” was too big and the ferret had to be rushed in for a blockage; their vet bill was $1,600.00. Ferrets do not have the enzymes to break down the skins and or pulp of veggies and fruit. NEVER FEED YOUR CARNIVORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES!

09.03.21

by debferret

Your ferret’s Medications!

Over the years, I have taken shelter ferrets to the vet for a variety of issues. I am very happy when I come home with banana flavoured Amoxicillin; even better if the ferret received an antibiotic injection of Convena. I’m crying inside if I have to give the poor ferret Metronizodole.

The Amoxicillin dispensing label will state Refrigerate. Easy Peasy! But there are so many other medications prescribed for our ferret that come in little dark brown bottles. We know that the dark brown bottle is because the medication is light sensitive. Got it! The label states the dosage, perhaps the label will say Shake before use or give with food. All good!

Where do we store the medication? Well, somehow most of us over 30 have grown up with the universal knowledge that to keep anything “fresh”, you store it in the fridge!! This mind set carries over to medications especially since the odd medication states right on the label, highlighted in yellow, REFRIGERATE.

Turns out most of us have been wrong, wrong, wrong when it comes to medications for ourselves, and our pets. A recent event brought the issue to the forefront. A foster parent accidently put the fostered ferret’s Prednisolone in the freezer along with the home made duck soupies. A phone call to our pharmacist confirmed what I already suspected. The Prednisolone was spoiled. That was a $25.00 Owie! The pharmacist went on to explain that Prednisolone should be kept away from light, in a cool, dark place. I nodded sagely and said all my medications were stored in my fridge.

Imagine my surprise when the pharmacist scolded me gently. He told me 90% of all medications in liquid or pill form should be kept at room temperature. But, but, “cool dark place” I said; the fridge is a cool dark place. Apparently cool as in you don’t want the medication sitting on the ledge over your stove and against an appliance that generates heat. You don’t want the medication sitting on your work desk under a lamp. You want the medication to be away from direct light, in a cool place. The pharmacist went on to say that a cupboard in your kitchen is a perfect spot; not the medicine cabinet in your bathroom which is a hot, humid place at the start of each day!

So I challenged him; Sulcrate – cool, dark place, Pepto Bismal – cool, dark place, Kaopectate – cool, dark place, cat hair ball remedy – definitely room temperature, bandages – your medicine cabinet. We had a good laugh.

I then spoke with our vet clinic and sure enough all medications should be kept at room temperate, in a dark place. Keeping the medication in the fridge can actually cause the medication to degrade and affects its stability.

The only medication that is weird is the Medicam for Cats. The external packaging saying refrigerate, but some vets will tell you to keep it at room temperature. Apparently it is one of those medications that can handle it both ways.

So, unless the label states in yellow highlight refrigerate, make room in a cupboard in the kitchen for all the medications. I want a white lab coat so I can pretend I run a pharmacy lol. I had to go out and buy a small two drawer cabinet to put all the assorted medications and ointments in for the shelter ferrets. My medications and vitamins are all now in a cupboard in the kitchen!

07.16.21

by debferret

FERRETS AND THE HEAT

Many ferret owners do not realize that their ferret cannot handle temperatures over 24 or 25 degrees Celsius. Ferrets do not have sweat glands and can not cool their body temperature down by panting like dogs do. As a matter of fact if you see your ferret panting, your ferret is in heat distress and in danger of dying from heat stroke!

So, first lets talk about how you can keep your ferrets cool (and thereby safe)! If you have central air in our home or a window air conditioner in their room; you have things covered at home.

If your window air conditioner does not really cool their room but you have access to your basement, most likely it will be a nice cool space to move the cage to for the duration of the heat wave.

If you drive a car with air conditioning you are covered when out to the vets. You shouldn’t be taking your ferret for a car ride on high temperature days. What would you do if your car died or you were in a minor accident and had to wait on the side of the road for help.

Please don’t take your ferrets to the beach. Parking them in the shade will not keep them cool.

Please don’t take your ferrets to the cabin unless you have air conditioning at the cabin. Remember a fan flowing on the cage will not cool your ferrets down.

Do not to leave your cage or carrier in front of a window. That sun beaming through the window can still overheat your ferret. I have had my forearm sunburn through the car window in an air conditioned car.

For those of you without air conditioning of any kind there are still some ways to protect your ferret. You can add water to an empty plastic soda or pop bottle and freeze it. The empty miki bottle from the liquor store is flat and is perfect for your ferret to drape himself/herself over. You can pick up a couple of ceramic tiles from the ReFit store and pop them in the freezer. You can even use those gel packs but only if you are sure your ferret won’t chew on them as the liquid is toxic. Remember to put the frozen container in a pillow case or wrap in a light towel so that your ferret isn’t lying directly on the frozen container.

You can also move your ferret into the bathroom, placing his blanket, food and water in the bathtub. We all know how cool that porcelain feels. Don’t close the bathroom door as this small space could heat up. And it goes without saying that your should make sure the bathroom is 100% ferret proofed just in case they can jump out of the tub. You don’t want to loose your ferret under the tub or in the walls from the sink cabinet.

Last but not least, you can fashion a simple air conditioner by soaking a bed sheet in water and then draping the wet bed sheet over the cage. Place frozen 4 litre milk jugs inside the cage as well. Place an oscillating fan in front of the cage. The fan blowing on the wet bedsheet will bring down the temperature inside the cage. This only works until the bedsheet is dry. So constant supervision is required.

A FAN BLOWING ON THE CAGE; MOVING THE HOT AIR AROUND THE ROOM WILL NOT COOL YOUR FERRET DOWN.

You could even invest in a small portable cube air conditioner available most hardware stores or on line.

I THINK MY FERRET IS OVERHEATING, HELP!

So let’s talk about the worst case scenario; and you come across your ferret and you think he/she is overheating!

Your ferret is overheating if: it is limp, and lethargic and the temperature in that room is above 25 degrees Celsius /

your ferret is laying there with it’s mouth open and seems to be panting (this is a crisis). This is a life threatening situation and your ferret will die if immediate action is not taken.

Immediately immerse your ferret in a sink or container of tepid water. NOT COLD WATER, you will shock his body if you do so. Test with your elbow. It should feel like room temperature. Cup handfuls of water and pour over the back of the head and body. Have your partner calling your vet to tell them you have a ferret emergency and you need to bring in your ferret for fluids due to heat exhaustion.

If you have caught the heat exhaustion in the early onset stage, your ferret will start wiggling and being himself/herself after 5 minutes or so. Offer him/her water to drink and move to your ferret to a cool location. If you aren’t sure your ferret has fully recovered, please bring him immediately to your vet. Don’t second guess. Your ferret may need fluids to properly recover.

You may not have to bring your ferret to the vet if caught early enough and you are absolutely sure he/she has recovered. Remember if you can’t transport your ferret to the vet in an air conditioned car, your ferret is still in danger of overheating again on the drive over.

So your ferret is out of immediate danger, but you must still rectify the housing situation that allowed him/her to overheat in the first place. Act on the suggestions listed above.

If your ferret is not responding to the tepid bath, warp your ferret loosely in a wet towel and rush him to the vet. The hope is that the vet will be able to administer fluids plus continue with procedures to cool your ferrets body temperature down.

By the way, did you know that putting a single ferret or a pair of ferrets in a pet carrier that is too small will cause them to overheat. Their bodies crammed together will increase their core temperature and overheat them. I know this from personal experience of 2 ferrets coming into the shelter from an air conditioned car. They were 2 fully grown ferrets crammed in a hamster carrier for the 20 minute car ride to my place. It was enough time for them to arrive limp and panting. By the grace of god, they must have just gone into heat exhaustion and the tepid bath was enough to bring them back from the brink of death. I then administered sub-q fluids. It took 30 minutes of working on them to save them. I was 10 minutes away from my vet clinic but they would not have made the trip. Had they been in the carrier another 5 minutes; it would have been too late.

Have I scared you! I hope so! A ferret overheating is a life and death situation. My hope is that you read this and take measures to prevent this ever happening.