STRAY dogs and lost cats are the most common form of animal picked up off the streets by Scotland's leading animal welfare charity.
But now Scottish SPCA volunteers have been besieged by an epidemic of homeless ferrets.
The problem has become so severe it has been left to care for 35 of the creatures that would otherwise be left to fend for themselves.
Yesterday, the charity launched an appeal for owners to come forward and give the animals loving homes.
Scottish SPCA Superintendent Sharon Comrie said: "A ferret might not be the first animal you'd think of when considering a new pet, but in our experience they are fantastic little creatures who can bring a great deal of enjoyment to their owners.
"Some people think ferrets are wild animals but they're not. They're domesticated pets that cannot survive outdoors on their own.
"It's very sad to see so many coming into our care. Whether this is from them escaping from their enclosures or being dumped, we can't say.
"What we do know is that they all deserve to be in loving homes with people who care for them."
The latest ferret to be rescued is Petal, 10 weeks old, which was found starving in Kelty, Fife.
Ms Comrie added: "Many enjoy being handled and some even like to be taken for short walks on a harness, a bit like a very small dog."
Budding owners are being urged to call its animal helpline on 03000 999 999.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article