Dear FML readers,
 
The following letter is being sent to ferret veterinarians in Maryland and
Virginia in an attempt to get the professionals to set the record straight.
 STAR* and all ferrets would be grateful if you would copy this letter,
format is neatly, and print it out - make lots of copies, and pass them out
to veterinarians in your area who deal with ferrets.  You can also change
bits and pieces to suit other important people who you think should see this
letter, but if you change ANY of the text, you will have to remove my name
from the bottom.
 
I don't believe this information will come as a surprise to any FMLers who
have been around for awhile, but if we do not get some support from
veterinarians, out pets could be at risk.
 
Thank you, Pam
 
==================
 
 Shelters That Adopt & Rescue Ferrets (STAR*)
P. O. Box 1714    Springfield, Virginia    22151-0714
703-354-5073      STAR [log in to unmask]
 
 
Dear Veterinarians,
 
 I am writing today to ask you to consider doing ferret owners a small favor.
 As you have probably seen by now, the National Association of State Public
Health Veterinarians (NASPHV) has issued a "Statement on Ferrets" dated April
22, 1994.  What started out as a public awareness statement about gaps in
ferret research and the need for caution of these high energy-level pets
around small children has been blown into hysteria and the persecution of
ferrets.  It has been reproduced by the Commonwealth of Virginia as "The
Dangers of Ferrets as Pets" and being quoted by humane societies and animal
rescue leagues as reason enough to euthanize every incoming ferret instead of
releasing them to ferret rescues in the area.
 
 To top off the hysteria, the following article appeared in the April 1995
issue of Pet Age, page 66, "Not Everyone Falls for Ferrets".  The third
paragraph states:
  "According to Suzanne R. Jenkins, VMD, MPH, of the Virginia Department of
Health, some lines of ferrets have a tendency toward aggression.  Until
studies on aggression are available, she added, it is not prudent to keep
ferrets as pets in households with kids.
 "Another reason, the organizations said, is that ferrets can have rabies
even if they have been vaccinated with a licensed vaccine.  Furthermore,
little is known about the period of viral shedding through saliva or the
interval between infection and the actual appearance of symptoms."
 
 What STAR* and ferret owners in your state would like to ask of you is
simple.  Please write to Ms. Jenkins and tell her a professional's experience
with ferrets through your clinic.  Tell her the truth about ferrets.  Her
address is:
 
Suzanne Jenkins
President, NASPHV
Virginia Department of Health
P.O. box 2448
Richmond, Virginia 23218
 
KSU Foundation Ferret Fund
Dr. Deborah Briggs
College of Veterinary Medicine
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66505
 
 We would also like to inform you about the research going on at Kansas State
University (at the above address) in cooperation with the CDC on researching
the shedding time of rabies in ferrets.  If you could possibly make a small
contribution to help the funding, and pass the information on to your ferret
owning clients that this study WILL help put our pets in the same category of
quarantine and inoculations as dogs and cats, and encourage them to
contribute as well, we might be able to scientifically stop the hysteria.
 
    Sincerely,
 
 
 
       Pamela T. Grant
       Director
[Posted in FML issue 1140]