At first, this is going to be a letter writing campaign. The simple
fact is that until we swamp the elected officials in PA, the CDC, FDA
and others with massive amounts of letters demanding that something be
done, it's going to be business as usual. Large bails of hand written
letters really do make an impression on people. It's so easy to spit
out an email, but a hand written letter takes time and costs money to
send. All these elected officials and government agencies need to feel
the pressure from the ferret community. We will not allow Triple F to
sweep this under the rug.
Please, keep all correspondence polite. Please remember to use
Honorable as indicated below (in the address but not in the salutation
line) for both the governor and lieutenant governor. There are many
elected state officials who will not take letters from anyone outside
of their constituency. There are also elected officials who make it a
point to read all hand written correspondence. They figure if you had
the time to actually sit down and hand write a letter, then it deserves
to be read. If you do hand write a letter, please write legibly. There
are sample letters included, but after reading them, please take some
time and do your own letter. Individual and distinct letters will have
a bigger impact than a form letter.
Writing to the Governor and the First Lady (same address as the
governor):
On the Governor of PA's website, I found that he and his wife are dog
lovers. Check out the First Lady's section of the Governor's website
to read about their two new Airedale puppies - see the pictures of
them with the puppies. We should appeal to this by sending pictures
of our ferrets (not as an attachment to an email please) with our
correspondence. Maybe they've never seen a ferret or know how popular
they are as pets in the U.S. Would the cries in the video haunt them
forever if they were the cries of Airedale puppies? Don't be vulgar
or gross -- but still try to convey the level of atrocities that have
occurred. Respectfully ask them to watch the video - it says it all.
You can write to Governor Corbitt AND his wife.
Honorable Governor Tom Corbitt
Governor's Office
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120
Phone: (717) 787-2500
Fax: (717) 772-8284
Email here:
<http://www.governor.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/contact/2998/e-mail_the_governor's_office/465341>
or: [log in to unmask]
First Lady (Governor's wife): Susan Corbitt
First Lady Susan Corbett Invites Pennsylvania Children to Enter "Name
the Pups" Competition.
<http://www.governor.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/the_first_lady/4359>
First Lady Susan Corbett invites all Pennsylvania children 12 and
younger to enter the "Name the Pups" Competition, a contest to name
the Corbetts' two new Airedale puppies arriving in late July.
<http://www.governor.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/pennsylvania's_first_dogs/20320>
Sample Letter to the Governor:
Dear Governor Corbitt:
As a (insert state you reside in) constituent, I pray that you share
the outrage that myself and the entire world is over the conditions
and operations of The Triple F Ferret Farm. What is viewed and stated
in the above referenced links, no doubt, is only a small part of the
horrendous inhumanity being part of Triple F's standard operating
procedures. The truth of such deplorable conditions and abhorrent
behavior of Triple F Ferret Farm employees are a direct reflection of
the exhibited lack of morals and personal standards of the supervisory
staff and owners. Each and every person that walks through the doors of
this cruelty factory is guilty of the most outrageous disrespect for
life.
As a dutiful public servant, I now personally charge you with the
responsibility to be these animals' advocate, and search out a resolve
that will protect and provide a comfortable kind existence for them,
from the breeders to the precious babies birthed there. There are many
options and groups ready and willing to support a "life" option as the
most desired choice (see contacts below).
The cries of the babies in the videos, alone, will haunt me for the
rest of my life.
I, for one, will not be quiet and tolerate such gross inhumanity. There
are local, state and Federal laws regulating this facility, their
operation, their intentional cruelty and neglect. I hereby demand
enforcement of the existing laws!
I look forward to your response, and updates as to how you are going
to resolve this situation.
Sincerely,
Name and contact info
Writing to the Lieutenant Governor:
Honorable Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley
200 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Phone: (717) 787-3300
Fax: (717) 783-0150
Email the Lieutenant Governor:
<http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/contact/19921>
Writing to the Bradford County Health Department:
Bradford County, PA (the county that Triple F Farms is in):
Bradford County Health Department does not take animal complaints of
any kind, and they referred me to the PA Department of Agriculture.
Dept. of Agriculture: 570-836-2181 Regent III, not charged with
enforcing animal cruelty laws, however, they said that if they received
a number of complaints, they would research to see what laws they could
enforce. BTW, this man did know about Triple F.
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
PO Box C
Tunkhannock, PA 18657
Writing to the Bradford County Humane Society:
Bradford County Humane Society
Po Box 179 Route 220
Ulster, PA 18850
Phone: 570-888-2114
Fax: 570-888-8707
Email: [log in to unmask]
Writing to the Centers for Disease Control:
* No matter where you live, if you are a legal, tax-paying resident of
the USA you have a right to contact the CDC , NIH, and the FDA about
3F and request that these government organizations cease all contracts
with 3F.
Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.
Director
Centers For Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Rd. NE
Atlanta, GA 30333
Dear Dr. Frieden,
Please allow me to voice my distress and disapproval of the current
situation with Triple F Farms of Pennsylvania.
(USDA Registration #17976; Triple F Farms, 3573 Vetter Rd., Sayre, PA
18840)
As a registered tax paying citizen of INSERT YOUR STATE HERE, I
politely request that any and all contracts with Triple F be canceled
immediately and an investigation into their inhumane practices be
instituted with utmost alacrity.
Thank you for your time and consideration to this matter.
Sincerest Regards,
Your Full name, spelled out and signed
CDC director PHONE and EMAIL:
<http://directory.psc.gov/hhsdir/eeKey.asp?Key=7255>
Writing to the FDA:
FDA letter should be addressed and with proper salutation to
Margaret Hamburg, M.D.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Ave
Silver Spring, MD
20993-0002
FDA commissioner (top person's title in this case)
EMAIL:
<http://directory.psc.gov/hhsdir/eeKey.asp?Key=26222&Format=Table>
Writing to NIH:
NIH letter should be addressed and with proper salutation to
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
National Institutes of Health
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20892
NIH director PHONE and EMAIL:
<http://directory.psc.gov/hhsdir/eeKey.asp?Key=78453&Format=Table>
Writing to the people that order the inspections for the USDA-APHIS in
the Northeast:
USDA Animal Care
920 Main Campus Drive
Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27606
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Phone: (919) 855-7100 Fax: (919) 855-7123
Triple F's location & President
Triple F Ferret Farm, Inc.
Jack Fallenstein, President
3573 Vetter Rd.
Sayre, PA 18840
P: 866-817-1756
P: 570-888-4874
Reference materials:
USDA Official Inspection Report: Aug 23, 2011
<http://acissearch.aphis.usda.gov/LPASearch/faces/CustomerSearch.jspx>
From The PETA files: (Warning, extreme graphic and upsetting contents)
Abuse, Death, at a ferret factory
<http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2011/09/02/Abuse-and-Death-at-Ferret-Factory.aspx>
Investigation Exposes Cruelty at Ferret Mill: Inside a Massive Ferret
Breeding Facility -
<http://www.peta.org/features/investigation-exposes-cruelty-at-ferret-mill.aspx>
Investigator's Notes:
<http://www.peta.org/features/investigator-notebook.aspx>
USDA Report:
Triple f farms customer number is 17976. enter that into the search
box and click search. once the site brings up their info, click on the
'inspection information' tab to get to the actual reports. there are
only a total of 12 reports that are viewable (going back to 2009).
<http://acissearch.aphis.usda.gov/LPASearch/faces/CustomerSearch.jspx>
[Posted in FML 7189]
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