I am certainly glad to see that others noticed these posts. Everyday on the FML there are posts for ferrets needing homes, some urgent. Shelters that are over capacity, the abuse and dumping that irresponsible pet owners do and posts from people desperately seeking ferret knowledgeable vets in their area. Compared to dog and cat research, ferret research is still in the dark ages. It has only just begun. We still do not have a cause/cure/prevention for many of the things that have long plagued ferrets: adrenal disease, insulinoma, cardio. cancer. We do not have a vaccine for ECE. We do not even have a safe distemper vaccine yet and now we have ADV. It seems like every few years we are adding another disease and we still don't have cures for many of the old ones. We still have vets that know very little about ferrets. Vets that treat ferrets are scarce and are often expensive because they are the only one in the area that does so, and that does not necessarily make them an expert. Then there are excellent ferret vets, that are impossible for many people to get to. You are left either with owners who cannot afford to treat their pets, or owners who can and have nowhere to turn. Are vets in Tennessee and the surrounding areas ready for this influx of ferrets? Is this fair to the pet or the owner?? Is what we really need more kits in mass quantities? The math has been done. Where are all these ferrets going to go?? None of the big ferret farms are going to go out of business real soon. Nor are any of the already established breeders . This website says ferrets will be shipped. Have these ferrets been ADV tested? If not Dr. Williams prediction of 10 yrs may happen sooner. Being competitive and breeding large numbers of ferrets, quality or not does not constitute doing something for the ferret. Responsible breeders should keep track of every kit they sell to see if any problems occur in the lines. Appropriate action can then be taken to insure that the problems are not continued. How can anyone possibly keep track of that many? What about neuter contracts? How do you track that many to make sure the females are not dying of aplastic anemia? How do you advertise ferrets as being long lived when this is the first year breeding them? You are taking the word of the previous breeder. Did they track every kit and know this for sure? Responsible breeders should not breed any more than they can comfortably take back and keep themselves. If every breeder did at least that, shelters might not be so full. If trophies and first place ribbons are a selling point.......well we all know beauty IS only skin deep.....and not for long. [Posted in FML issue 3207]