This sanctuary is housing these domesticated ferrets in a completely unsuitable and inappropriate habitat. They are being housed in an outdoor enclousure devoid of temperature control, which could be fatal in the summer heat. The terrain is rocky and does not allow for burrowing, and the enclousure provides no protection from birds of prey. The shelter has been contacted and informed that their habitat is inappropriate and life threatening, yet they have chosen to ignore the matter and have taken no steps to rectify this troubling situation. 

Joel Weiner, a member of the "Ferret Lovers" group on Facebook recently visited the shelter to assess the severity of the situation and had this to say:

"Dear fellow ferret lovers. I have very unfortunate news to report. Some of you may recall a post earlier this week from Cindy Ming regarding an animal sanctuary in West Bend Wisconsin that was housing ferrets in a completely inappropriate outdoor enclosure. Many ferret advocates called the sanctuary and expressed their disgust and outrage regarding the inappropriate conditions in which these four sweet, domesticated ferrets were living - some did so nicely and others not so nicely. I live about an hour from this sanctuary and today, I decided to drive up there and see for myself what was actually going on. Unfortunately, my worst nightmare came true. There are indeed four ferrets living in a large round outdoor pen, maybe about 15-20 feet in diameter. The ground is completely covered with rocks and there is a small (maybe 2' x 2') area of covered concrete in the middle of the enclosure where the ferrets can seek shade. It is about 85 degrees and humid here today and (of course) all the ferrets were under the covered area. My heart truly sank when I saw this enclosure. I was able to find the owners of the sanctuary on my way out. After nicely explaining my concerns, her explanation was that they allowed one of their summer interns to create a habitat similar to that of the black-footed ferret to help educate the public about endangered species. I sighed and explained that improperly housing one animal to teach about another is ridiculous. I further explained that these ferrets would no way make it through the remainder of the summer in such an enclosure. Unfortunately, they were extremely defensive and wanted none of my opinions. I believe this had to do with the onslaught of calls and e-mails they received earlier in the week when Cindy originally posted this news. I don't know what else to do about this situation. It is truly terrible that these four ferrets will suffer a miserable existence such that this sanctuary can educate people about the trials and tribulations of the black footed ferret"

The ferrets the shelter is housing in their enclosure are NOT Black-footed ferrets, they are domesticated ferrets with needs very different from that of the ferrets the shelter is trying to raise awareness for. To risk the lives of these innocent animals (which at this point is negligence, because they have been informed that their habitat is inappropriate and life threatening  and yet they have chosen not to take steps to provide appropriate shelter) is irresponsible, especially from a Sanctuary whose goal is education. 

Instead of addressing the situation, Shalom removed the video from their Facebook page after it recieved negative attention from people concerned for the well being of these four ferrets. These actions, and the reaction that Joel recieved when speaking with the owners of the sanctuary suggest that Shalom has NO intention of making the neccesary changes to their habitat, placing these animals in a LIFE THREATENING position. 

Please ask Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary to address this issue and provide an appropriate habitat and care for these innocent animals, or surrender them to someone who can, before it's too late!

The photo is a screenshot taken of the video of the unsuitable ferret enclosure before Shalom removed it from their Facebook page.