"Concerns over therapy ferrets used to kill rats at UK’s largest children’s prison"

[The Bread Guy]

Define Support

Good point.

In the case of the kids’ prison, I take it to mean like having pet-adjacent animals going thru kids’ wards to cheer people up.

Others’ support ferret mileage may vary

 

[Brad Sallows]

“Butchered” =/= attacked by another animal

No, that would be the coyote that came after the stock. No problem, though. Under the circumstances shooting it inside city limits was OK. The head was mounted and became a totem for the Cub pack.

 

[The Bread Guy]

No, that would be the coyote that came after the stock.

And according to your anecdote, that, too, should have brought back fond memories of days gone by if witnessed by the neighbours, right?

No problem, though. Under the circumstances shooting it inside city limits was OK. The head was mounted and became a totem for the Cub pack.View attachment 100959

Quite mascot-y looking right there

 

[Brad Sallows]

And according to your anecdote, that, too, should have brought back fond memories of days gone by if witnessed by the neighbours, right?

I think for almost all of them it was a novelty. And none were disturbed by it.

I had a chuckle about 3 decades ago when, in a decidedly urban part of the GVRD, over the fence I heard a familiar squawking next door that was suddenly silenced. Chinese New Years' dinner, I suspect.

 

[OldTanker]

When I was young my Dad, a frustrated Nova Scotia farmer, decided to raise rabbits in our backyard. Everyone in the family knew they were being raised for meat except my then-girlfriend (now my wife of 51 years) who unbeknownst to us thought they were being raised as pets, and have given them all cute names. She and I pulled into the driveway one afternoon and Dad and nailed the now-dead rabbits on the fence and was skinning them by slitting the skin and giving it a good pull. He skinned "Poopsie" just as we parked. It took about six months for my girlfriend to forgive him. The rabbit pie was good though.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Good idea fairy firing alright, fairy - STOPS! What do you do?

Someone thought using the emotional support ferrets in a kid's prison to kill rats was a good idea - until one of the kids being emotionally supported sees the ferret doing its Darwinistic thing on a rat?

Concerns over therapy ferrets used to kill rats at UK’s largest children’s prison

Prison officers’ union calls for immediate end to practice at HMYOI Wetherby over fears for child and animal welfare

www.theguardian.com

Number of WTF elements here, like the kids, and so many rats "the system" isn't dealing with that staff need alternate measures.

Yup, way to fragile. Treat one kid and keep the program. Stupid. There are few animals so serious about rats. Ferrets are at the top. We used to have a couple for rabbits. They were so effective they outlawed the practice. Maybe go see the handler and buy some shit from him. Rats smell ferret and they don't hang around for their eventual and nasty demise. Of course you need to keep it fresh. Give the kids a choice. Do you want to spread shit every couple of days around your room or raise a ferrret? Another throwing the baby with the bathwater. One person's emotional frailty controls a whole organizations effectiveness.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

"Why is that pretty bird lying there?"

"It's dead."

"Why is it dead?"

"It ate part of a dead rat."

"Why did the rat die?"

"We poisoned it."

There isn't really a unicorns-and-rainbows solution.

The best ratter I ever had died that way.