Hello all. I want make public my complete agreement with Vickie McKimmey's
post from yesterday. She makes a lot of very valid points. I hope people
take the time to read them and think about them before jumping to the
keyboard to flame her.
Now, please don't leap to the conclusion that I, and I believe Vickie also,
are calling Kathy a liar, or accusing her of making the incident up. I did
not witness the incident, and neither did Vickie, which she has stated in
her post. I do not disbelieve Kathy and I support her in her choice to
lodge a complaint. It is the total lack of corroboration that brings me to
question the incident and it's severity. If the abuse was so blatant and
so out in the open, why has no one else stepped forward to corroborate?
Why did no one else take the matter to the committee? I, myself, did not
hear a thing. I did not hear raised voices, but then, there were a lot(!)
of people at this show. Again, why did no one else see this abuse? They
can't all have been ferret ignorant people.
As to revealing the name of the breeder in question, I'm against it. This
is still alleged abuse and this woman's reputation is at stake. Her
previous good reputation should count for something, shouldn't it? Until
proof is given, or additional complaints are received, let's not go
confiscating anyone's ferrets. Remember, 'innocent until proven guilty' is
the tenet of our judicial system. Repeated complaints may then warrant
release of the person's name, as in the troubles people are having with
Desert Moon Ferrets. I see no evidence to warrant this action in this
case. (Note: I do not even know who the breeder was/is.)
I want to call on everyone to keep level heads about this. Agreeing that
abuse is bad is one thing but if we jump on the band wagon and crucify this
breeder because of one complaint that cannot be substantiated, think of how
this can turn into a free-for-all. It's very easy to ruin a person but
very difficult to correct the damage if the accusations are false. We see
enough bashing on this list that it should not come as a surprise to anyone
that these things happen.
Please don't stop looking out for abuse. We cannot slack of in the quest
to end abuse. However, we cannot just leap upon people without
investigating the complaints. The story of the gentleman with a Komondor
dog comes to mind. His dog was confiscated and he was fined because his
dog was obviously neglected. Why, it's coat was nothing but mats! In
fact, a Komondor's coat consists of long cords that take about 4 years of
hard work to achieve. This incident could have been avoided with just a
tiny bit of investigation. Actually, it would have behooved the neighbor
who filed the complaint to have taken the time to talk to the man. May I
suggest that we try talking to people before filing complaints. Maybe
they just lost their cool and are actually really nice people who are
ashamed of that fact.
The suggestion that spies be sent to shows to take pictures isn't a valid
option either. A picture can be misinterpreted very easily. Is he smiling
or grimacing? Is that a scritch or a slap? Is that a lick or a bite? If
abuse is witnessed, a complaint should be filed at that moment. Not a week
later. Not when someone else mentions seeing something. If everyone filed
complaints as the incident happens, then that is proof enough to warrant
possible action. But also understand and remember what Vickie said in her
post. The AFA in this case, the LOS or LIFE in some other case, is not a
policing force. They are there to judge the condition of the ferrets
brought up to the judging tables. Everything else is subject to personal
choice. The most they can do is pass requirements for caging conditions,
(ie: no smaller than so, must have food and water, must have at least a
towel to sleep in) and ferret temperament (no biters, no overly shy or
scared ferrets).
I expect there will be flames, both to myself and to Vickie. I can only
ask people to think before they flame.
Thanks for reading this.
Anastasia Kidd
Plainfield, NJ
[Posted in FML issue 3006]
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