>From:    dma <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Are ferrets dangerous to babies?
 
The poop part is a bad joke.  The biggest problem I've heard of is where a
toddler gets a hold of a ferret and treats it as a stuffed animal, picking
it up by a leg, head or whatever and shaking it.  If the ferret thinks it's
a real assault, which is quite possible, he'll "fight back"...and the kid'll
need stitches, maybe a lot of 'em.
 
There was supposedly a death on Oregon about 10 years back, not long after
the National Enquirer published an article titled "The Jet-Set Pet That Eats
Kids".  In that case of a supposed "ferret killed kid", there was also a lot
of "Blunt Trauma"...I talked to William Phillips about that case; he
suspects the parents did the kid in and framed the ferret to avoid jail, and
that they got the idea from the Enquirer.
 
Bottom line is, there *may* be a problem with very young babies, there is a
strong possibility of trouble with toddlers...as with any other animal,
young kids and ferrets need to be supervised closely whenever they're
together.
 
In my opinion, if you suspect a kid is old/mature enough to deal with a
ferret without fear of mishap, borrow someone's tame friendly *rat* and see
how the kid holds and handles it.  See, a rat will panic quickly if it's
uncomfortable, yet will be more inclined to "flee rather than fight", so
it's a safe way of seeing how well the kid deals with small animals.  I
remember the time a five-year-old picked up Felix at a park, and I was
nervous until I saw how well the kid was doing - turned out he had a rat at
home.
[Posted in FML issue 1636]