Out & About September 2017

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Nick and Fiona Walklet usher us
through to the garden where eight
ferrets are scrambling over each other
to greet their visitors.
Sitting benignly next to their pen is Ninja,
a black and white mog, who looks a little
perplexed at the long, wriggly energetic
creatures.
The couple explain that they ‘got into’ ferrets
because of their middle daughter, Harriet, who
really wanted one. Like all children, middle or
otherwise, their daughter has now grown up
and left home, but the ferrets have stayed –
although Nick does point out that she is still
in the area and still regularly visits the ferrets
(and presumably her parents!).
The first thing they make very clear is that
ferrets are essentially sociable animals and are
not vicious.
Most people’s view of ferrets is coloured by
the now-legendary image of one of the furry
creatures clinging on to the finger of former
Countdown presenter Richard Whitely.
“Like any animal, ferrets will bite if they think
they’re in danger,” explains Nick.
“They’re also quite short-sighted so if they see
something coming towards them they tend to
think it’s food and will go to bite it,” adds Fiona.
There is only one species of ferret, but they
can be different colours and Albino ferrets are
quite common.
“In the past, the Albinos were very popular
working ferrets, because when they chased
out a rabbit, they could then be easily
distinguished before the prey was shot at or
caught by hawks.”
Ferrets are still used as ‘working’ animals
today, but they are more commonly simply
pets. They have never been naturally wild, in
fact they were domesticated by the Romans
more than 2,000 years ago.
Nick and Fiona are members of the Hants &
Berks Ferret Club, which they joined in 2010
and which currently has around 40 members.
“We learned a lot from other members of the
club, which does a lot for promoting the health
and wellbeing of ferrets, rehousing unwanted
animals and educating owners in responsible
animal care.
“In fact, the club will be celebrating its 20th
anniversary next year.
“We get calls from all over the country,
requesting our services – we were asked to
go up to Aberdeen the other day for a show.
I’d say we probably turn down about 50
appearances a year.”
What is the enduring appeal of these playful
creatures?
“Almost exactly that – they are very playful and
a lot of fun. But they’re also slippery creatures
and are always looking for ways to escape and
go off and explore.
Ninja the cat tolerates the
ferrets
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