DSC_9625 Feral ferret (Mustela putorius furo) framed by his two dogs Becca, (a greyhound/German shepherd cross), and a Welsh springer spaniel, ferret owner and trapper Billy Barton places extra nets across other rabbit burrows to capture rabbits fleeing from his trained ferrets, in an effort to keep rabbit numbers down in the Cromwell Chafer Reserve, Cromwell *
11002-22121 Ferret (Mustela putorius furo) this male Siamese/Point domestic ferret was imported as a breeder from Finland for the fur industry. The “points” (shoulders, hips, legs, and tail) have very dark guard hairs, while the torso is significantly lighter with only a scattering of dark guard hairs. Following the collapse of a struggling ferret fur-farming industry in NZ in the nineties, many farmers went bankrupt and irresponsible owners simply released their animals into the wild, placing further predation pressure on the country's native bird populations. Port Chalmers *
11002-22220 Ferret (Mustela putorius furo) ferret farming was made legal in NZ for a few years from 1985. This hand-picked selection of prime standard 'sable' furs was produced from animals imported from Finland and Scotland before the market crashed and animals were released into the countryside by irresponsible owners. Port Chalmers *
