Ferreting About on Winter Hill

For a bit of a change (Thurs 24/01/08) we ran (!) up Foxholes, along Georges Lane and then off-road along Burnt Edge to the mast road, where we bumped into Norman's group. Norman eventually appeared and surprisingly asked if we wanted a ferret, because he had one in his boot (strange, most folk keep them in their trousers). Apparently he had found it wandering along the road at about 1,300 ft. No-one took him up on his offer (not much room in a pair of lycra strides).

We carried on to the end of the tarmac past the masts, then turned to come home and on the way down found another ferret! No-one seemed to want to adopt it so we reluctantly left it to its fate.

We all agreed that it's bad enough to dump unwanted pets, when it wouldn't take too much effort to find them a home, but it's particularly callous to dump the beasts up on Winter Hill on a very poor night, when they're almost bound to suffer a lingering death from exposure. (Even worse to die alone, Norman having abducted its mate.)

Read a horror story a while ago about a bloke who threw his daughter's teddy bear out of the car window in a fit of peak. A few weeks later his wife found him in the bedroom with his throat torn out and the teddy bear tucked up with the daughter. The little girl was pleased to have her bear back but was puzzled by the way the bottoms of its legs were all worn away ~ as if it had walked a long distance.

Perhaps a similar fate will meet the ferret dumper.

EtU