>From:    Sukie Crandall <[log in to unmask]>
>... I think they need a copy of the article on Sean and Rocky, too!  How
>about it, Mary and Eric?
 
The Sean and Rocky article is available on our web site for anyone to read
(in adobe acrobat format) at: http://www.modernferret.com/pressreleases/
 
You will also find on that page copies of the information Mary sent to
each city council member along with a copy of the current issue of Modern
Ferret: (1) Cover letter (2) Compiled information about rabies in ferrets
(3) An article for issue #30 about domestication and the meaning of the
large number of albino ferrets.
 
This information may be useful for other folks trying to legalize ferrets
elsewhere, so we have put it up on the web.  The documents are formatted
in adobe acrobat so that they can easily be printed out to look nice.
 
Issue #30 (a special albinos issue) is what we would be finishing right
now if we weren't going into NYC so much.  It will soon be finished, once
we get some sleep.  Have to finish writing a book too.  This will be a
busy weekend for us.
 
Yesterday we went in to NYC to watch a photo shoot by a famous designer of
a famous author for the cover & centerfold of issue #31.  Very exciting
stuff!
 
Today we went into NYC to observe the city council vote on the bill to
legalize ferrets.  The bill passed (just barely) which now leaves it up
to Mayor Giuliani to sign or veto it.  At this point it does not look like
there would be enough pro-ferret votes to override a mayoral veto (and the
mayor is likely to veto the bill).
 
One could hope that with the other embarrassing stuff the mayor has going
on right now, he would sign the bill as a good publicity gesture (since the
newspapers have been basically pro-ferret lately).  However, he has been
fairly negative on it and apparently just recently sent out a memo to all
the council members to that effect.
 
The number of ferret owners who showed up to be present during the vote
was pretty small.  I know that the vote affects a lot more people than the
handful who were there.  Mary and I showed up and we live on Long Island
where ferrets are perfectly legal.  Where were the NYC folks?
 
Of the council members that voted against the bill, there were some who
spoke who obviously had a poor education about ferrets.  This is not due
to a lack of information at their disposal.
 
Some of the comments they made based on misinformation included:
- There is a rabies danger from ferrets.  (The bill requires rabies
  vaccinations.
- Ferrets would get loose and breed.  (The bill requires ferrets to be
  neutered.)
- Ferrets are rats.  (Enough has be written about that.)
- Ferrets attack babies because babies smell like rabbits.  (I've never
  smelled a rabbity baby.)
 
However, what I see as the potentially biggest problem is the council
member who stated that the reason he was voting against ferrets was not
because they were bad animals, but because he felt that some ferret person
or persons had been disrespectful to him.  This was his "political" way to
get even - by voting against the bill.
 
Truly a case of one bad apple spoiling the bunch.  Although it's been seen
here on the FML plenty over the past several years (witness the large
number of terrific contributors who have left the FML), it has now managed
to turn the tide of legalization in NYC.  There is no way of telling how
many of the council members who abstained or voted against the bill did it
because some (presumably well-intentioned) ferret person rubbed them the
wrong way.
 
This then turned into a shouting match in the hallway after the session
was over.  Not a high point for ferret owners endearing themselves to the
council members (especially if they may need more council members to vote
pro-ferret in order to override the mayor vetoing the bill).
 
We've seen this type of thing many times since we started Modern Ferret
in 1994, and all I can say is: For some reason there are people who run
various organizations who claim they speak for all ferrets owners and
then do truly rash gestures.  For some reason, these people are taken to
actually be representatives for all ferret owners and they thus give all
ferret owners a bad name.
 
I don't know why this is - I've never met a dog owner who could speak for
ALL dog owners or a cat owner who could speak for ALL cat owners.  But
with ferrets, any individual who makes a bad impression seems to speak
for all of us.
 
Over the years we've met a lot of people from a lot of ferret organizations
and I'd have to say there are very few of them that I'd want representing
my interests.  The shame is that despite their poor diplomatic skills they
are able to make such a hostile impression on important people and taint
the image of ALL ferret owners.
 
I'd love it if Modern Ferret were doing better so that Mary and I could
devote more time to legalization efforts, but there are so many outspoken
ferret people who have worked so hard to make our lives miserable that we
need to devote most of our time to keeping the magazine afloat rather than
working on these larger issues.
 
- Eric
Modern Ferret Magazine - For ferret owners. By ferret owners.
Mary & Eric Shefferman & the Fuzzies:
Trixie, Balthazar, Cauliflower, Koosh, and Gabrielle
http://www.modernferret.com  -  http://www.modernferretstore.com
[Posted in FML issue 3413]