Skunks Make Great Pets

Skunks Make Great Pets LIVESTOCK Exotic Animals 26-1-23 f you want a truly American pet, get a skunk, says Jane Bone, Augusta, Georgia. Skunks are native to North America, unlike cats and dogs. To further the cause of skunks, Bone formed a group called Skunks As Pets, Inc., about 30 years ago. The goal of the organization, known as SAP by its members, is to promote their favorite pets and to promote annual shows. The 15th National Skunk show will be in Cincinnati, Ohio, March 23, 2002. SAP has numerous local chapters in North America, with a total membership of more than 2,000. Bone (a.k.a., "The Skunk Lady") says there's a difference between what she calls "domesticated" skunks and those in the wild. Domesticated skunks have been raised in captivity and were likely born to parents that were also domesticated. Fact is, Bone points out, some lines of skunks have been domesticated for many generations - maybe as long as 200 years - mostly by the fur industry. Knowing that a black and white striped fur would be difficult to market, fur farmers selected and bred for lighter colors, like brown and gray, and with less distinctive stripes, or even no stripes at all. Skunks, like cats, dogs, ferrets, and other such pets, do need all the necessary shots, proper nutrition and health care. Bone notes that while they make good pets, skunks aren't cats or dogs. Care and feeding are different for skunks than for other domestic animals. Bone says domesticated skunks, if properly trained and descented, are cute, loving, curious pets, that no longer deserve their Latin name, mephitis mephitis, which translates to "stinks stinks" in English. She often tells curious visitors and others who'd like to touch, pet or hold her skunk that it's a Norwegian Snow Kitty to avoid the stigma of owning a skunk and the trauma to people when they realize they've actually admired and touched a skunk. Before you head out to find a pet skunk for yourself, check state laws that regulate such things. Skunks, even domesticated skunks, are not legal pets in about half the 50 states. In most of the states where they are legal, permits are required. Georgia, where Bone lives, allows ownership of skunks if they are not black and white. In New Mexico, you must have a permit for a domesticated skunk, but there is no such requirement for wild skunks kept as pets. Iowa is the only state where there are no restrictions on skunk ownership or on what constitutes a pet skunk. All the information you need can be found at the SAP Website: www.skunksaspets.com. Bone or SAP treasurer Shelor Brumbeloe would be glad to take your phone calls or answer letters. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jane Bone, The Skunk Lady, 3315 Limber Twig Lane, Augusta, Ga. 30906 (ph 706 792-9737; E-mail: JaneBone@aol.com); or, Shelor Brumbeloe, Skunks As Pets, Inc., 1711 Apple Valley Drive, Augusta, Ga. 30906 (ph 706 793-0108; E-mail: SkunkLady2@aol.com).

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