At HMYOI Wetherby, described as the UK’s largest children’s prison, ferrets kept as therapy animals are reportedly used by prison managers to control rat numbers. According to reporting, permission for the practice was approved last month after an increase in rats in prison offices and grounds. The Prison Officers’ Association says the ferrets have been co-opted for vermin-killing and alleges a violent incident involving an animal and a child’s handler. The complaint describes the rat being attacked in the presence of a young inmate handler, and says the ferret did not complete the killing, after which a prison officer stomped on the injured rat.
Concerns raised by unions and animal welfare groups focus on both child welfare and animal welfare, with calls for the practice to stop immediately. The National Ferret Welfare Society has said it cannot condone the stamping to death of any animal in any situation. The available accounts present the ferret practice as a matter of debate within the prison system, with welfare concerns centered on how vermin control is carried out and the circumstances under which it occurs.
