WINNIPEG—Animal Justice is calling on the Chief Veterinary Office (CVO) to immediately seize hundreds of ferrets at a breeding mill in Melita, Manitoba and work with ferret rescue organizations to find homes for these animals, who are being bred to supply pet stores and to be sold online through sites like Kijiji.
Video recorded during a December 2024 visit to this breeder appears to show numerous violations of Manitoba’s Animal Care Act, including barren wire cages caked in excrement and cobwebs, and high ammonia levels caused by large quantities of uncleaned waste piled up beneath the ferrets’ cages. Many of the ferrets are confined in cages in outdoor sheds, exposed to extreme weather. They are also at risk of disease and injuries from wild animals such as raccoons, who enter the shed in search of food and have even ripped the legs off of baby ferrets. Approximately 500 ferrets are housed at the facility, with many forced to spend much of their lives in total darkness in order to promote fur growth.
Disturbingly, video evidence also shows a homemade carbon monoxide gas chamber used to kill sick and injured ferrets, as well as those no longer useful for breeding. In addition to the appalling conditions, the facility recently experienced a devastating outbreak of distemper, resulting in the suffering and death of numerous ferrets.
While the operator of the breeding facility does not seem to be intentionally harming ferrets, the animals appear to be in significant distress due to the filthy and crowded conditions in which they are being kept. For over a decade, Manitoba has failed to enforce licensing requirements for animal breeders, leaving dog, cat, reptile, and small animal breeders to operate with virtually no oversight.
“This is a deeply troubling situation where a lack of government oversight has resulted in serious harm to hundreds of ferrets,” said Kaitlyn Mitchell, Winnipeg-based director of legal advocacy at Animal Justice.
“This is not about blaming a single person—it’s about ensuring these animals are rescued and given the care they urgently need, while addressing the systemic failures in Manitoba’s animal protection framework that allowed this to happen in the first place. We need pet breeder licencing to resume immediately to prevent mills like this one.”
For years, Manitobans and animal protection groups have been raising the alarm about unlicenced breeders, including irresponsible backyard dog breeders and puppy mills in particular. Unlicenced dog and other animal breeders have flourished across the province, profiting off of animals sold on websites such as Kijiji and in pet stores.
“A chronic lack of oversight has created a Wild West for animal breeders, where even basic welfare standards are ignored. This ferret mill is a stark example of what happens when the government turns a blind eye—animals suffer, operators are left to struggle with no accountability or support, and rescue groups’ limited resources are needlessly drained,” Ms. Mitchell said.
Additional video from inside the ferret mill can be found here and here.
Animal Justice’s petition calling on Manitoba to license breeders can be found here.
Contact:
Josh Lynn
Public Relations Manager
[email protected]
Kaitlyn Mitchell
Director of Legal Advocacy
[email protected]
