**URGENT NOTICE** *TO ALL FERRET OWNERS AND ORGANIZATIONS
 
    In february, 1995, the U.S dish & Wildlife Service began implementing
a plan to dispose of 100 aging, rare, BBFs.  These four and five yaer old
adults were born and have lived their entire lives in cages.  They have
never known hunger, cold illness without prompt medical care, or danger.
On June 1 they are scheduled to be turned out into the coyote-infested
Badlands of South Dakoto.  They are the grandparents and greatgrandparents
of the present BFF captive breeding colony.
    In a brief attempt to prepare them for release, the ferrets have now
been moved from their home and placed in dirt-filed, outdoor pens--
without benefit of winter coats.  The pens contain live prairie dogs, the
ferrets' normal diet in the wild, but which they have rarelt tasted and
never killed.  To force hunting, a skill which few, if any, of these sad
creatures will live long enough to use, the ferrets are being deprived of
food several days a week.  This includes females forced to breed and
presumably pregnant.  Many will not hunt.  Several have been injured in
the attempt.
    Within days of the abrupt transfer, animals began to suffer illness
from stress and exposure.  When removed for medical care, examinations
revealed a host os pre-existing illnesses and physical disabilities which
would preclude any hope of survival in the wild: partial blindness,
chronic parasitic disease, an unbilical hernia, malignant tumor, broken
teeth, teeth blunted off at the gumline by dental surgery, no teeth at
all.  Contary to protocol, medical records have been refused by to the
staff.  Two beautiful ferrets have died.  Seven suffer from coccidiosis, a
life threatening disease in elderly animals.
    Biologists perpetrating this unconscionable experiment estimate 10%
may survive--10 live, 90 die.  Yet, ferrets this old have never before
been released into the wild.  Two and three year old ferrets released in
Montana last fall fared poorly.  "Coco" lived 16 days before the coyotes
got her.  Her five kits didn't do as well.  Several others lived a few
hours.  "Ranger", a particularly affectionate two year old male, lived
just 20 minutes.
    All other ferrets have grown tame and trusting with age.  Federal law
permits extinction but prohibits private adoption.  Each would do well in
your living room.
    A group of concerned citizens, some active in the captive breeding
program and supportive of it's goal to reestablish the species, has
proposed the *Black Footed Ferret Living Care Center* as an alternative to
release.  At no cost to the taxpayer, this privately-funded, non-profit
facility, would provide a safe, comfortable, permanent home for elderly
and other non-releasable BFFs.  It would operateindependantly, but under
Federal permit.  A formal proposal ws submitted in March and rejected in
April.  A release date for the ferrets was set at June 1.
    We appeal to all who value and cherish wildlife, who abhor its abuse
by indifferent governmental agencies which trade morality for expendancy.
We ask your support for these lives that hang in the ballance.
 
        BFF LIVING CARE CENTER proposal available upon request. Write
or call Carolyn R. Kinsey, 140 W. 29th St., Ste. 191 Pueblo, Co
81008-1016. (719)391-2627.
        BFF LCC Hotline: (303) 337-0645; U.S Fish & Wildlife Service:
Mr Ralph Morgenweck, Director, Region 6, P.O. Box 25486, Denver
Federal Center, Denver CO 80225, FAX (303) 236-3815; Miss mollie
Beattie, Director, USFWS, 1849 "C" St., NW, Washington, DC 20240, Fax
(202) 208-6965.
[Posted in FML issue 1197]