Of course, but who said the ferret is a pet? There are lots of fools out there who breed animals either unintentionally (they have a male and female housed together and nature takes its course) or even bigger fools who think they can just up and start breeding animals.
Not looking to garner any ill will here, but personally I don't see ferrets as being any more pets than are rats, mice, chickens, or GPs. Its not like we're talking cats or dogs here, which of course are a totally different thing.