In the MF discussion the original question was how to get the farms
to donate to help shelters.  Last night I had an idea but I have
absolutely no idea how anyone would go about organizing it, nor if it
would work if it can be organized.  The technique would be multi-fold,
using a range of established techniques:
 
1. The donations would go to SOS and to the IFC Elf fund because
   both are tax deductible established charities which help ferrets.
 
2. It would be done as fund drive with regular press releases to ferret
   lists, newsletters, and if possible also Ferrets magazine.
 
3. There would be a source of matching funds to give incentive up to a
  certain limit IF pledges from known reputable people can be gotten, or
  if the charities have checks in their hands.  (The reason I used this
  wording is because I am aware of a list member who periodically makes
  things up including claiming to give large donations that never
  materialize.)
 
4. All of the farms in the U.S.  which can be found will be approached.
That provides fairness so there can't be refusal due to unfairness and
it provides competition, esp.  given the second point.
 
Alternatively, shelters can keep records or how many ferrets they get
turned in to them have the right farm markings, and how long they remain.
This would give "ferret days" in given time period (a figure that is kind
of like man hours) .  Say a shelter has ten ferrets with those marking
during a given month.  Three are adopted in 10 days.  Four are adopted
in 15 days, one each is adopted in 20, 25, and 30 days.  Okay, the
ferret days for which care was needed that month come to:
10+10+10+15+15+15+15+20+25+30, or 180 ferret days in that month.  That
gives a feeling for basic costs (and, yes, I know that I gave a better
than usual situation), and then there are also medical costs.  Making
that info publicly available with actual figures and also using them in
donation requests might have a greater effect because it could become
more embarrassing and informative than non- quantified descriptions.
 
I personally doubt either would be very successful, but the first combo
hasn't been tried as a combo, and I haven't read of anyone quantifying
ferret days for a shelter according to source of origin that I can
recall in all of these years, so at least they haven't failed yet...
 
People who check the FML Archives will find a range of approaches that
have already failed, so of them over, and over, and over, and over,
and over again.  Still, they keep being proposed...
 
-- Sukie (not a vet, and not speaking for any of the below in my
private posts)
Recommended health resources to help ferrets and the people who love
them:
Ferret Health List
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
AFIP Ferret Pathology
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
Miamiferrets
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
International Ferret Congress Critical References
http://www.ferretcongress.org
[Posted in FML issue 5313]