Greg,
 
It sounds like this totally uninformed epidemiologist, is recalling
something he read about our wild American black footed ferrets, though
their previous staple prey was prairie dogs.  Someone from the Wyoming
or Montana facilities that are doing the repopulation programs of black
footed ferrets, should be interviewed, and then an counter article should
be written for the Madison newspaper on the difference between our
domestic ferrets,and the BFFs.  Even the ferrets in Europe that are both
pets and used for rabbit hunting, are fed before the hunt, so the ferret
goes down in the hole, grabs the rabbit and brings it out.  They don't
shred it.  Contact the Ferret Nook or Friends of Ferrets rescue/shelter
groups in Milwaukee and perhaps you could write an article yourself for
the paper.  Somebody should clarify the difference, and let other readers
know what this epidemiologist stated, wasn't true about our domestic
ferrets.  Any previous "baby attacks" I've read about, and you could
count them on one hand, were due to negligence on the owner's part.  I
can account for our domestic ferrets have a reaction to a crying baby.
I'm sure it's instinctive, as wounded prey or the cry sounds like one of
their squeak toys, but when it comes to babies and ferrets, common sense
has to come into play, as with any other pet.
 
Phyllis
[Posted in FML issue 4192]