Marshall Farms - Controversy

Controversy

The firm has come under criticism from ferret owners who claim that Marshall ferrets are more susceptible to early death from diseases and congenital defects, possibly as a result of inbreeding, genetic issues, and the practice of spaying and neutering animals at too early an age.

Other criticisms are directed at the health care and living conditions of Marshall Farms' breeding population. Some groups have accused large-scale breeders like Marshall of separating ferret kits from their mothers and sending them to pet shops at too young an age, sometimes before they are fully weaned. As a result, several states have passed laws raising the minimum age of ferrets transported by commercial farms; a petition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture submitted in 2004 seeks to make such regulations applicable nationally.

Pet retail stores sell back to Marshall Farms older kits which are not sold after a certain amount of time; they are then euthanized. Due to this practice, as well as Marshall Farms' expansion into the sale of ferret supplies, accessories, and merchandise, many ferret advocates question the ethical position that this conflict of interest creates.

Animal rights groups such as PETA have attacked Marshall in the past for breeding animals for scientific and medical research. The firm was the subject of an Animal Liberation Front raid in 2001, in which it was claimed that 10 ferrets and 30 beagles were removed from the complex.