THE AMERICAN FERRET ASSOCIATION
Press Release
June 5, 1997
Contact: Dr. Armand Weiss   1-888-FERRET-1
 
    MICHIGAN GOVERNOR URGED TO STAY EXECUTION OF FAMILY PET
         AFA STRONGLY PROTESTS IRRATIONAL EXECUTION
 
The American Ferret Association (AFA), the Great Lakes Ferret Association,
Massachusetts Ferret Friends and numerous other ferret groups across the
country urge concerned pet owners to contact Governor John Engler by
telephone (517-335-7858 or 335-3400) or by fax (517-335-6949 or 335-6863) to
stay the execution of Kodo, a pet ferret, for rabies testing.  Now after
more than a month of court hearings, Kodo's fate, the pet of the Jacobs
family of Saginaw, Michigan, hangs in the balance.  As of 3 p.m.  Monday,
June 9 -- the date set by Judge Carpathe of Bay County, Michigan -- Kodo is
to be destroyed by the state, despite the animal's negative history for
exposure, lack of any physical signs of disease during its more than 30-day
quarantine period, and the fact that the animal is up to date on its rabies
shots.
 
With only a few days left, the campaign to spare the life of one family's
pet ferret from an unconscionable court-ordered death sentence is being
waged on many fronts.  Concerned ferret owners in other states have been
writing letters and faxes, and staging rallies.
 
Although the state claims that somehow this ferret's bite could pose a
rabies risk, Freddie Ann Hoffman, M.D., vice president of the AFA and a
health policy analyst, states, "Rabies is not a `spontaneously' generated
disease.  This case represents a complete misinterpretation of the available
information in assessing the rabies risk and a biased use of the available
scientific information.  Data from the National Center for Health Statistics
show that rabies is one of the least likely diseases one could contract in
the United States_less likely than your chances of getting polio from the
polio vaccine, which is required of school children, and much much less
likely than your chances of being struck by lightning.  Indeed, I am unaware
of any record of a case where a ferret has transmitted rabies to a person or
animal.  The conclusion reached by this state's health department sets a
dangerous precedent for health policy throughout the country, since it would
be acting on a level of concern which for all intents and purposes is a risk
level of zero."
 
Kodo's court-ordered death penalty represents a lot more than the
unnecessary killing of one family's pet.  It is whether or not the public
health community can continue to burn up public resources in support
policies of holding pet ferrets to unscientific standards far higher than
any other domestic animal.  Again, concerned pet owners should contact the
Governor's office: Governor John Engler, State Capital, Lansing, MI 48933.
[Posted in FML issue 1959]