Owner sought for feisty Plymouth ferret Published duration 10 January 2014

media caption Grumpy Gareth the feisty ferret has caused a backlog at an animal shelter because no-one has offered him a home

A feisty ferret called Grumpy Gareth is causing a backlog in an animal shelter's waiting list because no owner has been willing to take him on.

Gareth was brought to the Woodside sanctuary in Plymouth, Devon, in May last year because he was nipping his owner and other ferrets.

Now the sanctuary is desperate to find him a new owner "who is prepared to work on his personality".

Gareth is being kept in a cage at Woodside's Ferret Funhouse.

But with 11 more unwanted ferrets needing to be taken in, he is causing gridlock, the sanctuary said.

'Quite lazy'

Supervisor Nicky Angwin said: "We're at our wits' end to know what to do with him, as keeping him isolated isn't ideal.

"It would have to be someone who has had ferrets in the past. He is nippy so they have to know how to handle a ferret correctly."

But looking after Gareth and other ferrets is not very time-consuming.

"They can be quite lazy, they sleep up to 22 hours a day," said Ms Angwin. "You would think he would like to spend his waking hours socialising.

"But he is his own worst enemy."