Thank you everyone on your copmpliments of my kits <g> I've got two
puffed up, proud mama ferts tonight. They're growing big and strong
<g> and it looks like some will be finding new homes further afield
that I could ever have imagined when they were first born.
 
What is it about New Zealand ferrets that Americans seem to love so much??
My main worries for transporting them, have been "solved" - one, the long
trip.  I've solved that by making sure I use a reputable company to take
care of them, and I'm allowed to put things in to the carrier to make them
comfy for the trip <g>  Two, the stopover in that dreaded FFZ - California.
The USDA has assured and reassured me that as long as my babies are 'in
transit' they are not considered to be "in California" - Hey, that works
<g> - and, a ferret lover is allowed to come into the airport in Los
Angeles to feed, water and snuggle with the little guys after their long
plane ride.  They're getting picked up from the airport in Nevada by good
ferret loving people and they'll have a chance to relax, stretch their
legs and have some good play time :o)
 
Now, I've spent some time deliberating on whether or not I should do this,
I've weighed the risks of sending them over there, and also considered
their possible future... After all America is the land of rabies, adrenal
tumours, insulinoma, lymphosarcoma and ECE.  New Zealand has none of these
(well it's possible that insulinoma may have been misdiagnosed as something
else here)  My personal opinion (and this has nothing to do with FACTS and
everything to do with opinion <g>) is that a lot of these problems may well
be environmental - now, if it's caused by a mixture of things, such as the
diet, plus being inside all the time, plus the water, plus perhaps - heavens
*raisins* that were grown where pesticides are sprayed... who knows... it
doesn't matter.  It DOES matter to me that my babies may be going into a
situation where they may, by some slim chance, get one or the other of
these... However, in the long run, I made my decision to send them.
 
The risks are low - animals are sent across on airlines all the time, and
when they're sent responsibly, the risk of them suffering ill-effects are
virtually nil... In deference for some problems that others have
discovered, in their furbabies dying because of a small amount of foam (or
similar) that was swallowed and which expanded while in the guy due to the
decrease in air pressure, I am allowing my kits only toys that cannot be
chewed or torn.  Kinda boring for the little guys, but far far safer.
Having said that every precaution is being taken, I will add that I will
be a worried mama throughout the time they'll be on the way to their
destination.  If I foresee any problems with these kits going, I will have
no hesitation in not sending them.
 
Insofaras the risk of their getting any of these illnesses, I see this risk
as also being negligible.  There at least I know they're being cared for,
and loved, by ferret knowledgable people.  Very few New Zealanders know
anything about ferrets, and to be honest, the legal status of ferrets as
pets is still on 'shaky ground' here.  Currently I have 16 ferrets.
Legally, no-one in New Zealand can own more than three ferrets without a
permit, and no permits are being issued.  In fact, there has been one (at
most two) permit(s) issued for ferrets in the country that I'm aware of,
and the one that I *do* know of, they had to fight for several years to get
it.  Fair?  No.  It means that every ferret owner who has more than three
ferrets stands the risk of losing most of their babies as the whim of some
beaurocrat.  There are lots of beautiful animals here, but a hang of a lot
more ignorance here than there is there.  My babies WILL go to someone who
can look after them as they SHOULD be!
 
Oops, I'm getting on a high horse... To me, this was an emotional decision.
It took me some weeks of concentrated decision making (actually longer, for
I've been thinking for months of a similar decision in trying to get a
ferret brought into the country).  Now that I have made the decision, I am
standing firm by it.  I know that these guys have very, very good homes
waiting for them over there, and that to me is the most important thing for
them.
 
Okay, I have some other things to post yet :o\ will have to be separate!!
 
Sam
[Posted in FML issue 2241]