More Londoners fancy a ferret as ideal companion

12 April 2012

Traditionally associated with Northerners in flat caps, ferrets are now being embraced by Londoners as the ideal urban pet.

The first national ferret survey reveals that 27 per cent of Britain's two million ferrets are kept in the South-East, with an estimated quarter of a million of those in the capital.

Five per cent of ferrets are kept in the North-East, 12 per cent in the North West, 15 per cent in the West Midlands and seven per cent in Yorkshire.

Celebrity ferret fanciers include Madonna, Jonathan Ross and Paris Hilton.

Ian Kearns, trustee of the Ferret Education and Research Trust, said a ferret was an ideal companion for busy office workers with no outdoor space.

"Londoners have woken up to the fact that ferrets make perfect city pets," he said.

"The numbers have soared since the millennium. You can keep them indoors in small spaces and they don't need walking.

"They sleep up to 18 hours a day and can be left to doze happily while you work long hours and can then be relied upon to wake up and entertain you with their comical, lively antics when you get home. They will adapt their sleeping patterns to your working day."

Ferrets can be left for longer after a feed than cats or dogs, suiting owners who spend a day or two away.

Enthusiasts typically keep two animals, although the record is 160.

The sport of "ferret legging", where the animal is kept for as long as possible up its owner's trousers, was popular in Northern towns last century, but was deemed cruel by the Eighties and died out.

The pet's renaissance in the South will be celebrated on National Ferret Day on May 5.

A growing number of city farms house ferrets, including Newham, Vauxhall, Deen, Spitalfields and Mudchute.

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