For Debra Thomason in Texas: am I missing something?  What has been gained
by the city of Fort Worthless enacting legislation requiring FERRET
LICENSING?  Yes I understand now that ferrets are included in all the
control stuff with dogs and cats and some other animules, but I'm curious if
you can tell us specifically, how the ferret, or its owner is benefited by
the requirement that the ferret be licensed?  Also it appears that the city
shelter will adopt out INTACT, NON-NEUTERED ferrets to whomever for $40
apiece, and will not necessarily provide the unlucky adopter any detailed
informantion on the nurturing and handling of such a ferret???  Does this
sound too smart?  Do you know the logistics of just how a ferret is going to
have to be collared and wear a license/rabies tag?  I can tell from personal
experience, that in order for that collar to stay on the ferret, especially
with a dangling metal tag, its gotta be very tight or the ferret will get it
off one way or another.  If the ferret can't get it off, it's likely a death
sentence, because sooner or later when he's lost and out wandering around
he'll hang himself to death.  Hopefully the city will reduce the size of the
license/rabies tag for the ferret.  Let us know how this works out, because
I am of the opinion that there's "gonna be trouble in River City" with this
deal.
 
For Ela Heyn: There are two concentrations of SEVIN: A 5 % and a 10%
concentration.  Remember that I emphasized that only the 5% carbaryl powder
be used for heavy flea infestation control and that any sensible person who
uses an insecticide has got enough 'twixt his ears to read the handling
instructions on the container before using the flea powder.  May I please
tell you and others that this compound was recommended to me by Doctor
Maggie Ryland, a well published expert ferret vet, so I'm certainly not
advocating a treatment that has not been sanctioned by a professional with
more knowledge about this subject than I have.  I have used SEVIN 5 for
flea control for the past 10 years with no ill effects noted either on the
treated ferrets or myself.  However if you prefer not to use it, as do I
based on a highly respected vet's recommendation and 10 years of success,
hell I don't care.  Don't.  I should hope that the FML readers will realize
your negativity on this subject is straight out of the literature and not
based one wit on your personal experience.  Further not once in your
alarmist discourse is the word ferret ever mentioned.  What you have posted
applies to human beings and not ferrets . . . am I correct?  By the way,
what do you use?  You didn't say.
 
R.Roller's posting on his sanctioned killing of an aplastic anemic (AA)
jill, his assumption that all the breeders he knows are money-hungry jerks,
and that Marshall Farms is doing a wonderful job educating the purchaser of
their critters ... wellll, me thinks he's laying it on a bit thick when he
writes, "sparing her anymore pain and suffering," we had to kill her.
Believe it or not folks, killing an AA jill, out of perceived mercy, is
unfortunate, and it's certainly not necessary.  Jills in the terminal phase
of AA, at least the ones I've experienced, die in a quiet, peaceful
sleep-like coma.  Their body tissues, including the brain, and especially
the brain, are progressively poisoned by elevated levels of the oxides of
carbon and the concurrent deprivation of molecular oxygen.  This dualistic
and and double-edged death-creep is a function of the severely depressed red
blood cell count resulting from the effects of estrogen poisoning of the
bone marrow.  The blood colors to lemonade hue.  The little girl cannot turn
off her estrogenic secretions until some 24 to 36 hours postcoital; so in
effect, no sex means a slow death over time for most female ferrets (But not
all.) Let me tell you that this happens to Marshall Farms ferrets as well,
due to their (I'll be nice here) quality control "slippage." We've had 5 MF
jills out here in Seattle over the years that had been improperly spayed.
All 5 died and 3 of the 5 that we opened had remnants of ovarian tissue
remaining within the body cavity.  MF quality control "slippage." As far as
MF providing quality care info to their customers, as you say they do ...
well WOW!  That's news to me.  Could you be thinking of that little 3-fold
pamphlet they sometimes put out to the pet stores, that may or may not get
into the hands of the customer?  If so, do you consider that (advertisement
for MF products primarily) good info???
 
May I suggest that as a responsible shelter operator, consider doing what we
do here at Ferrets NorthWest FNW.  Obtain 2 or 3 vasectomized males to help
take these little girls out of estrus if it's not too late when you get
them.  This also provides a natural birth control service to the local
ferret community, and if you wish, charge a nominal fee for aspermically
studding these vips to estral jills brought in by your previous customers.
Please, if you need some help on getting started in this highly benefical
effort to hold down ferret overpopulation (Yea, like that's going to happen
with some high percentage of MF ferrets dying of cancer every year) please
let me know and I'll be glad to tell you all the mistakes we made here.
[Posted in FML issue 2386]