Article as reported via The Sun website on Sunday 29th April 2012

FERT is very concerned to hear of the incident that involved Ms Knowles and her daughter however we feel that the article fails to represent the domesticated ferret in the manner that is fitting with the nature of the animal that many owners have come to understand and appreciate.

As with all animals, when threatened, frightened and hungry they can all act out of character which may then be translated as an aggressive attack where the animal's intent may have originally began as a defensive action.

In this particular instance the animal described 'could' be a ferret although that has not been confirmed by any reliable source. A frightened or hungry ferret may smell food on a child's fingers which could lead to the ferret approaching the human however it must be made clear the likelihood of this happening on an aggressive basis is very rare and almost unheard of.

Ferrets are domesticated animals and have been kept by humans for thousands of years therefore they are not regularly known for wandering in the wild however as a result of either being lost, abandoned and escaped then some ferrets can find themselves in a foreign and unfamiliar circumstance which can lead to irregular behaviour.

Being hungry and frightened coupled with the human flaying their arms and shouting at it could further lead to the animal being further distressed and responding aggressively.

We are pleased that none of the involved parties were injured beyond what appears to be a small puncture wound to the hand and we would repeat the comments of the local RSPCA that anyone approaching an animal that they are not familiar with should do so with a level of caution

Statement by Ian Kearns, CEO of FERT; on behalf of the charity