Now, the following description is of a situation which is more clear: http://www.sundaylife.co.uk/news/article3398032.ece Some of the descriptions, including of cannibalism by the animals to survive, will remind people of a few very bad rescues in the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere. There are degrees/levels of such situations... Also in that Google Ferret News alert that just arrived was this: http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-now-ferretfolo.j31,0,1706210.story which includes a police description from the Virginia seizure. http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-now-ferretfolo.j31,0,1706210.story clarifies that it was a veterinarian who assessed the ferrets and decided that 61 of them needed mercy shots. Can you imagine how horrid that would be for any veterinarian? Also, it indicates that it was the veterinarian who determined that dehydration and starvation had occurred. Such a sad situation. Finishing with good news to cheer people up: http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/26737/ >Leading the group, as winners of the Conservationist of the Year >award, are Logan County ranchers Larry and Bette Haverfield. Sukie (not a vet) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html [Posted in FML 5872]