Ferret thefts on the rise

A surprising number of ferrets are being stolen in the south of England, with owners turning to expensive high-tech security measures in a bid to prevent raids.

James Bradley had 27 ferrets stolen from his Wiltshire home last year. After the thefts, the pest-controller wrote online: “After all my mates, such as Phil Lloyd, Old Frank etc had their ferrets nicked, they finally raided me tonight.” He invested over £4,000 on security cameras and a guard dog to protect his ferrets.

“I know a lot of disillusioned people who have had their ferrets stolen,” he said.

Should I get my ferrets chipped and tattooed?

Ferret theft is such a concern that the Wessex Ferret Club sent members a warning to secure enclosures and avoid discussing ferret ownership in public. “To be completely blunt, if someone is hell-bent on stealing your ferrets then there is a strong possibility they will succeed,” it read.

But no one knows why people are stealing ferrets, which are cheap and easy to buy.

Ken Jenkins told the Wall Street Journal that some people think thieves sell ferrets for drug research. Some think they go to the illicit pet trade.

How do you protect your ferrets? Comment below to share your tips

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About the author

Simon Whitehead

A Suffolk-based professional ferreter and rabbit controller, author and Shooting Times contributor, Simon is known widely as The Ferret Man and acknowledged as the last full-time warrener operating in Britain. Born in Middlesbrough in 1968, he moved with his parents to Suffolk in 1984 after the collapse of Cleveland's steel industry, and turned a boyhood fascination into a business in 2001, demonstrating ferreting at country shows nationwide through the summer and controlling rabbits in rural and urban East Anglia through the winter. Simon has become ferreting's premier demonstrator in the UK, sits on the Shooting Times expert panel and writes regularly for the magazine. He is the author of four books, including Ferreting: An Essential Guide, published by Crowood, and Ahead of the Game, celebrating wild rabbit as food, and has appeared in television programmes on rabbit management.

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