Washington Post 28 Jun
 
FERRET OWNER REMAINS FREE AS SEARCH CONTINUES
 
  Judge Thornton released the owner of a missing ferret that authorities
fear may be rabid, modifying an earlier decision to jail jennifer Au
until the animal is found.
  After the woman testified that her attempts to locate the animal during
the weekend were unsuccessful, the judge released her and ordered her to
continue looking for the ferret until July 14 when he plans to make a
decision about whether to jail Au again.
  The move was criticized by relatives of the 5 year-old boy who was bitten
by a ferret, possibly Au's.  The child's grandmother said "The judge is
usually tough.  You have to be consistent.  Now the people who have the
ferret may not feel pressure to bring it back."  The child is scheduled
for his final shot on July 9.
  Au said yesterday that she had become a pawn in a larger struggle.  "I
feel I am stuck in the middle between health department officials and the
ferret groups.  The (the ferret support groups) are using this for
publicity," said Au who spent 5 days in jail last week.  Another man
bitten in the same shop where Au's ferret was caged was scheduled to begin
treatment last week.
  Au and ferret supporters have been skeptical that Fuji has rabies.
However, health officials say they cannot take chances because rabies is
invariably fatal to humans, especially because no one knows the history
of the animal before it was taken to the pet store.
  This year, District of Columbia officials have found several stray
ferrets including one that was rabid, said a city health official.  The
sale of ferrets has been banned in the District since 1982.
END OF ARTICLE
 
I have refrained from editorializing on this subject preferring to present
the situation as related in the press.  My ferrets are house animals.  In
all liklihood, they would not survive were they to escape.  I positively
know they are less likely to be exposed to rabies than I am.  If one of
mine bit a person in our house, I would hide it and go to jail rather
than give it up for certain death.  Likewise, were it in a cage at a pet
store and I saw the biting incident and it was not my ferret, I would not
give it up.  On the other hand, if there were any doubt about who did the
biting and the history of the animal, I would feel obligated to deliver
up the animal.  I am concerned that the current hysteria may cause keeping
of ferrets as pets to be outlawed.  Ferrets are legal in Virginia and most
states, at least for now.
                                                                          
[Posted in FML 0031]