What were they thinking?

From wikipedia's entry on Ferret Legging:

"The sport is said to involve very little 'native skill', simply an ability to 'have your tool bitten and not care'. The current world champion, Reg Mellor, is credited with instituting the practice of wearing white trousers in ferret legging matches, to better display the blood from the wounds caused by the animals. Competitors can attempt, from outside their trousers, to dislodge the ferrets, but as the animals can maintain a strong hold for long periods, their removal can be difficult.
The ferrets are occasionally put inside the contestants' shirts in addition to their trousers. An attempt to introduce a female version of the sport—ferret busting, in which female contestants introduced ferrets down their blouses—proved unsuccessful [emphasis mine]."

Proof that women are indeed more intelligent than men.