Hi all--
    I should know better than to get going on this again...  But I have an
actual scientific study to contribute about the New Zealand situation which
was mentioned in a post yesterday.  I just finished reading The Natural
History of Weasels and Stoats, by Carolyn King, published in I think 1993
(last few years anyway).  This author has studied stoats and common weasels
since the early 70s, and has written several papers on feral mustellids in
NZ.  In her opinion, attributing the extinction of many of NZ's flightless
ground birds and small mammals to feral mustellids is incorrect.  She feels
that the damage was already done to those populations by first of all
people who ate them, and secondly by dogs, cats, rats, and pigs, all of
which were present for at least a hundred years before the mustellids were
introduced.  The mustellids may have tipped the balance in some cases, but
in King's opinion you can't place the blame squarely on their shoulders.
This is not to defend the practice of establishing feral populations where
they shouldn't be-- I would also agree that the ferret colony should be
removed.  I know I am on record as defending the possibility that our
little fuzzies would do better than we think in the great outdoors, an
opinion which I still hold, and now I've just said that feral must- ellids
may not have the effect we think they would, but it seems to me that this
feral population should be removed for a couple of reasons.  One is that
wild ferrets would be quite bitey, and if people approached them thinking
they were tame, this would provide the potential for much bad ferret PR.
Another thing is that these ferrets would not have had their rabies or
distemper shots, which also makes them a possible health risk in the
context of suburbs (please nobody miscontrue this statement as saying that
no wildlife has a place in close proximity to humans-- it's just that, as
we'd all agree, these ferrets aren't wild- life in the first place, so why
take the chance).  Anyway, I've gone and stuck my foot in it again, all in
the interest of clarity-- let there be no mistake, I am _not_ defending the
idea that ferrets are wild animals or should be released in the wild, I am
just defending them against having caused mass extinctions in NZ.  Whew.
 
On an unrelated note-- Kelleen, Go Girl!  Good for you for sticking up
for fuzzies who clearly needed it!
 
Regina (wondering why she doesn't keep her mouth shut)
Amelia (who says that's ok, you're like a ferret in front of a dryer
tube, have to go through it)
[Posted in FML issue 1314]