This was mentioned in the Rochester News article forwarded to yesterday's
FML: "They [MF] are regular target of animal rights groups."
 
If that's the case, then it's no wonder that they don't want to allow
anybody in to tour the facilities.  Anybody not with a government agency
could be seen as trying to scope the place out for a later "visit." It
seems to me that in trying to talk with MF, it should be taken into
account that they might be feeling something of a seige mentality and be
highly suspicious of anyone trying to gain entrance to their breeding
facilities (as yesterday's poster noted, they didn't even allow photos of
the inside of the facilities to be run in the paper).  While concerns
about disease are quite valid, it's also probably being used as a bit of
a smokescreen to deter visitors.
 
I guess all I'm saying is that when approaching MF, try to put yourself in
their position for a moment--not with regard to how they may treat their
ferrets, but with regard to how they might react to outsiders trying to
get in, as people who don't feel guilty about anything they are doing but
do feel threatened by others.  Depending on your language, you might be
written off as a potential threat to their ferrets, even though you know
that you are trying to help those ferrets.  Whether they care about their
ferrets as we do or whether they see them only as a cash commodity, they
undoubtedly don't want to see their ferrets and beagles stolen or worse
let loose to die very unecessary deaths.  Just something to keep in
mind...
 
Regina
 
Regina Harrison  [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
http://www.channel1.com/users/regina/~gossamer.html
 
             Are the volcanoes still active?
               Please don't disappoint me!
               I believe in voodoo again.
           Stick needles in the telephone book.
[Posted in FML issue 3628]