Sorry I couldn't post this sooner, but we just received the phone call today.
 This is my best shot at interpreting what happened from what was told to me.
 
On Dec 23, a 12 year old girl received a baby ferret as an early Christmas
present.  She was excited and rushed over to her best friend's house next
door to show her.  While there the kit, as kits will, nipped her friend.  No
one thought much about it.  That is until much later, Maryland Public Health
became involved and convinced the friend's parents that their daughter might
die of rabies unless the ferret was killed and tested for rabies.  This was
well into January several weeks following the nip.
 
The Public Health department demanded that the ferret be surrendered for
killing.  The owner refused.  A MD ferret organization got behind the owner
and arranged for a hearing on the matter which took place last Friday and
Monday morning.  They argued that the time since the bite was now 30 days,
long past the time that the ferret would have died if it had rabies; that MD
normally quarantines livestock for 10 days even though there are no shedding
studies on them; that after 30 days it would be too late to start rabies
treatment regardless of the outcome of the test; that since Public Health did
not recommend the rabies treatment be started they were obviously not
concerned that the ferret might be rabid.
 
Monday morning at about 11:30, the judge ruled that since Public Health were
the "experts" everything they said had to be believed, and nothing the real
ferret experts said was to be considered.  He ordered that the ferret be
turned over to Public Health.  Dr.  John Neil ( (301) 791-3260) Washington
County Public Health ordered the ferret to be killed.  By 2 PM the baby
ferret was needlessly and senselessly killed with an overdose of barbituate
delivered by a large bore needle directly into the heart.  I can only hope
(but fearfully doubt) that they hit the heart the first time.
 
At first I was very saddened.  Now I am furious.  Do you realize that most of
us who own ferrets have this hanging over our heads every day?  That anyone
can claim to have been bitten by one of our pet and that it can be ripped out
of our arms and killed with hardly a second thought?
 
I urge every one of you that love their ferret (and I know that everyone on
here does), contact your local Health or animal control department and find
out just what the policy is where you live.  Then contact you local ferret
club or shelter (the phone numbers are in the STAR FAQ, I believe) and start
getting involved to get laws passed to give our pets the same protection
afforded to dogs and cats.    Write or call the major Ferret Organizations
(FURO, AFA, LIFE, CDFA, etc.)  They have data that you can use.  Call your
local representatives and ask them if they'd be willing to sponsor a change
in the laws.  Even you students can get involved.  High schooler's, see if
your Civic's teachers would consider a school wide project to help draft a
bill, then work for it as it goes through the various committes.  Younger
students can write letters to your local officials and state congressmen to
ask for a change in the law.  Please get involved.  Just tell yourself,
"NEVER AGAIN"  will you let a pet ferret die needlessly.  If we don't get
involved, no one else will.
 
Sorry for the soap box.  A very emotional subject for me.
 
Dick Bossart
[Posted in FML issue 1085]