Shelley wrote in in part:
>Well let me introduce little Ms. Marci! Ms. Marci will be gracing one
>of the pages in the 2006 SOS calendar. Her story is this.....she was
>saved from a certain death at a local pet store. When we got her out of
>there (we had to buy her to save her) she weighed 8 ounces was about 6"
>long and was supposedly 3 months old. There is no way she was that old
>but boy was she a sick and weak little girl. When we got her, she
>literally couldn't hold her head up. After a few days that were touch
>and go, she started showing signs of getting stronger. Before too long
>she was eating her duck soup great and really beginning to look like a
>ferret and actually showing a little interest in life. And look at her
>now, a beautiful blaze (and yes, deaf)! She's a gorgeous little girl
>who weighs in at under 1 lb...
Shelley, if you have not yet done so could you, PLEASE, send a copy of
your EXCELLENT post about Ms. Marci to APHIS/USDA? It so much supports
why we need improved standards for ferrets, including older shipping
ages, and it just plain says it so very well. Besides needing sheer
numbers, we do need letters like your post to save such ferrets, because
without them we will fail, I'm afraid. Ms. Marci's type of suffering
is exactly the sort of thing we are trying to stop. I am so glad that
you got her in time to save her life even though it sounds like the
experience may well have stunted her. What makes it so sad and
frustrating when we all read of these ferrets is that the suffering is
so avoidable, but luckily we now can get changes nationally that will
save these ferrets if we are fortunate to have enough people who truly
love ferrets care enough to write.
Here are the addresses:
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:
(an original and 3 copies)
Docket No. 04-088-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD
APHIS, Station 3C71
4700 River Road, Unit 118
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238
Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 04--088--1.
or the edocket:
http://docket.epa.gov/edkfed/do/EDKStaffCollectionDetailView?
objectId=0b0007d4809252bb
These people at APHIS/USDA can help us as long as they see enough polite
support for ferrets not being sold or transported at ages younger than 8
weeks, and a call for Ferret-Specific APHIS/USDA standards designed by
ferret vets.
-- Sukie (not a vet)
Ferret Health List
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org
International Ferret Congress
http://www.ferretcongress.org
[Posted in FML issue 4982]
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