Its amazing how sports often come from illegal or strange activities. One such sport is ferret legging, which was popular in England.
At one time, only the wealthy in England were allowed to keep animals that were used for hunting. This didn’t stop poachers, but many had to hide their illicit animals in their pants. For those who were poaching ferrets, this meant hiding the creatures in their pants. Most likely when they did this, the ferrets were dead, but ferret legging has a unique twist to it.
A way to pass the time
Before the technology age, people had a lot of time on their hands and needed various ways to pass the time. In most cases, they would play various games, many of which became some of the sports we enjoy today. Imagine the first group to play baseball, basketball, soccer, or golf thought of a game and figured out how to play it. The same goes or strange sports and putting an animal in your pants is certainly a strange sport.
Ferret legging involves putting a live ferret down your pants to see how long you can keep it there before releasing the animal. It seems to have been popular in Yorkshire, England, among coal miners, but the actual origin is unknown. The winner is the person who keeps the animal in their pants the longest.
How do the ferrets stay in pants
If you put a ferret inside your pants that are worn normally and have some space at the ankle in which the creature could easily get out, then a ferret won’t stay in your pants very long. Before the animals were put into anyone’s pants, participants tied their pants at the ankles to ensure the animals wouldn’t simply drop out. Once two ferrets were placed in the pants with the participate, the belt was then fastened securely to prevent the animals from escaping. This set up means that contestants had to let the animals out, which meant giving up at some point during the competition.
Yes, this sport has rules
In the sport of Ferret Legging, there are some rules, which are only meant to cause contestants more pain. No contestant can be drunk or drugged and the animals cannot be sedated. Competitors are not allowed to wear underwear, and the ferrets must have a full set of teeth that have not been filed or blunted. Beyond these rules, the sport is pretty straightforward.
Competitors are allowed to try and dislodge the ferrets when being bitten but must do so from outside their pants. This can be difficult because ferrets can maintain a strong hold for long periods. The person who can keep two ferrets in their pants the longest wins.
Ferret Legging record were kept
In the early days of this sport, which seems to have begun in the 1970s as an official sport in Great Britain, the first record was 40 seconds. Eventually, this record was broken to over one minute and then 90 minutes. In 1977, Edward Simpkins set a new world record of five hours and ten minutes. He had two large bites during this time but continued to play a game of darts with the animals in his pants.
The record holder for many years was retired miner Reg Mellor who achieved a time of 5 hours and 26 minutes in 1981. He was known to hunt ferrets in his youth and had a trick of ensuring the ferrets were well-fed before they went into his pants.
In 2010, Frank Bartlett and Christine Farnsworth broke Mellor’s record and achieved a time of 5 hors and 30 minutes. The did this as a fundraising event for their community first responders.
Crossed to America
This dying sport has been around for centuries as a way for people living in areas where ferrets are common to pass the time with a strange, painful, and unusual sport, It made its way to America for a few years, with ferret legging events held in Richmond, Virginia, from 2003 to 2009. This short stint isn’t too surprising, considering the cruelty to the animals and the contestants.
The sport of Ferret Legging is an extremely strange sport and it might still be enjoyed by a few people in some communities, but its by dying out for a while. Imagine the damage these animals can do when inside your pants, angry, and biting you as much as they want to.
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