It turns out the woman in the novel has the name "Warp" because it refers
to that flowing interweaving motion of strands on a loom.  Our Warp had
gotten her name because she was so fast, but this fits, too, and did her
marvelously warped sense of humor.  It's good to see happy stuff
associated with her name.
 
Sadly, many states have weak to virtually non-existent animal abuse laws
but most people don't know that.  Here are some sites which can help
design and obtain a form of legislation that can help:
 
http://www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/hoarding.html, and
http://www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/MunicipaLawyer.pdf and
http://www.legis.state.il.us/publicacts/pubact92/acts/92-0454.html and
http://www.mhsource.com/pt/p000425.html (hoarding and how it hurts animals)
 
These may also be of interest:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislat/awa.htm (animal welfare act) and
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/publications.html (fed. regulations and more)
 
There is active work at AFA as well as in some states to improve the
sales and transport ages for ferrets to prevent another form of abuse:
http://www.ferret.org/
 
(I don't have the direct URL handy so if someone wants to post that,
please do so!)
 
In many cases of animal abuse the people are also in violation of health
and building codes and in many states THOSE laws and bureaucratic
branches are called in by humane groups so that something with more teeth
can be obtained.  That shouldn't be necessary, but until laws improve it
will often be.  The only way to improve laws is if each of us works on
that; this isn't a situation in which one can wait for someone else to
do it -- this one needs a lot of shoulders behind it in every state.
 
Can't enforce what isn't there so it's two step: in the states that have
toothless laws real improvement in laws in needed, and then enforcement.
In those ones lucky enough to have some good laws it's a matter for the
public insisting on enforcement of those and addition of ones needed.
 
One abuse problem is that in some states, believe it or not, backyard
breeders (the ferret equivalent of puppy mills) are seen as "agricultural
producers" as are puppy and kitten mills.  These are "producers" who
are small so fly below federal radar and don't get those inspections,
and because they are seen as agricultural they have the power of the
agricultural lobbies behind them even if that isn't at all what the
farmers meant.  In those states it is important to get laws that
separate companion animal breeding from agriculture.
[Posted in FML issue 3860]