>I feel that, if a ferret is healthy, and is four or under, that it *should*
>be exposed so that it won't be hit by it once it gets older and cannot deal
>with it.
 
One of the problems I have with this statement, and the logic behind it, is
that it seems to be a blanket statement that doesn't take into account the
circumstances.  I do *NOT* believe that this was Trish's intent; she
mentions being concerned about Bob's older ferrets being exposed, so I take
it she would not have me expose ~2 yr.  old Anastasia and let her bring it
home to scenario, well, almost...
 
Who is to say that, should Goose depart this Earth and I decide to expose
Anastasia, that I might not turn out to be a jerk and abandon her, or
circumstances force me to give her away, or I get hit by a car tomorrow...
then she ends up sharing a cage with another older, previously ECE-free
ferret, who would not survive?  Or infecting a whole shelter?  Or someone's
10 or 20 pets?  The fact that Trish lost no ferrets to ECE does little to
convince me that everyone would be so lucky, expecially those who have not
or never will find the support of the FML, or who are new to ferrets and
know nothing of ECE.  Someone could go away for a weekend and return to find
their pets knocking on death's door, as quickly as ferrets can go downhill
(no, I don't condone leaving ferrets alone for a weekend, but I'm sure it
happens...)
 
The fact that we have not been able to stop the spread of this disease or
learn about it is NOT, to me, a good reason to *facilitate* it's spread.  I
think Bill K's analogy is valid; I'm not standing in line for herpes
either :)  Let alone the ferrets that survive the disease but may continue
to exhibit signs of gastro-intestinal distress from time-to-time, or just
not return to their former selves, ever.  The fact that we know so little
abount ECE is all the more reason not to mess with it, IMHO.  If I were
running a shelter, I *might* agree that I would be faced with it eventually,
so I might as well - but then everyone who adopted from my shelter would
have that choice made for them, would they not?  And since most of us are
not running shelters, I think that we should try to avoid all-encompassing
statements, and consider all the circumstances.
 
Disclaimer: I'm not flaming anyone, I'm stating my opinion which happens to
differ somewhat from opinions posted by others, all of whom are probably
more experienced and knowledgable about ferrets than I, and whom I have come
to respect during my time on the fml.
 
Ed Atlee (edman, whose seen one too many flame wars recently...)
Goose & Annie (neither of whom are volunteering for exposure) and
Maggie the Lab (what's ECE?)
 
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[Posted in FML issue 1670]