When Angela Taylor was called to assist with three pregnant ferrets abandoned in a crate in a stranger’s garden, one was already in labour. “Her kits didn’t survive,” says Taylor, who has run Chase Ferret Rescue in Derbyshire for more than 20 years, “but the other two had six babies, which is a lot of mouths to feeds and then find homes for.”
Now the summer breeding season is here, animal welfare groups report a huge influx of lost, stray or abandoned ferrets, often pregnant jills (females) whose owners can’t cope with extra kits, or hobs (males) who have marshalled their notorious escapology skills to go in search of a mate. Inevitably, the impact of lockdown on pet ownership is also being felt: “They are breeding faster than we can rescue them,” Taylor sighs.
