By EMILY ANDREWS

Fabulous furry friend: Ella Sleightholme with her pet skunk, Busby


There are those pet-lovers for whom a cat is too conventional and a mutt simply too mundane.

But it appears they wouldn’t turn up their nose at a skunk.

For, perhaps surprisingly given the black-and-white mammals’ penchant for causing a pong, they are the latest must-have furry friend.

Following crazes for tea-cup piglets, pygmy hedgehogs and meerkats, it seems that baby skunks, with their soft fur and ability to be house-trained, are proving an ideal family pet.


On a lead: Katie Sleightholme is training Busby so she can walk him with her dogs


Owners are undeterred by the strong scent the animals can release when threatened, saying they are cleaner than dogs or cats.

Breeders estimate that there are around 2,000 kept as domestic pets, and demand is increasing.

Skunks are omnivores with a natural diet including insects, fruits, nuts, mice and other small mammals.


source: dailymail