Normally, I don't put the letters I write up here, but this one has some
info which may be useful for others to incorporate in their Jane letters so
I did. (Actually, I think this may be my first time posting one. <G>)  Use
address     [log in to unmask]   for your letters or send them by snail
mail.
 
COULD SOMEONE, PLEASE, GIVE ME THE JANE SNAIL MAIL ADDRESS FOR SENDING A
HARD COPY?
 
 ----
 
It was quite distressing on several counts to read the article below.
While I am sure that you advise those who contribute to your magazine to
check their "facts" it doesn't always happen and in this case "Jane" has
been caught quite firmly in the middle.  Isn't it always a nuisance to have
to remove folks from a "Contacts" file?
 
Okay, let's look at this point by point and see why your magazine needs to
run a clarification or a retraction.
 
Let's tackle the health aspects first.  No physician wants to expose
patients to medications which are not needed, and contrary to what Ms.
Newkirk has said ferrets do not pose a rabies risk.  Don't take my word for
it.  At the end of this paragraph I will provide you with references to
check; having more reliable sources of information may prove useful for
you.  The FACTS are these: there has been an effective vaccine for ferrets
since 1990 when IMRAB 3 met the stringent criteria of the USDA, afterwards
there were also comprehensive CDC studies done at one of the nation's few
rabies laboratories to study how an assortment of rabies strains would
behave in ferrets.  Leading these studies were Dr. Deborah Briggs and Dr.
Charles Rupprecht.  From their work it became obvious that ferrets do not
pose a risk, something which had been suspected would be the result since
there has world-wide never been a recorded case of rabies passed on from a
ferret.  In early November of 1997 the National Association of Public
Health Veterinarians met to hear the changed recommendations to the
Compendium of Animal Rabies Control which now provide for quarantine times
for ferrets in bite instances the same as are done for dogs and cats.  You
may contact Dr. Rupprecht at      [log in to unmask]     ; Dr. Briggs at
[log in to unmask]    ; and the head of the NASPHV's Compendium Committee
chairperson, Suzanne Jenkins at     [log in to unmask]    .  Other
ways to verify this information include looking at 1998's first edition of
the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association or by contacting
your own state public health veterinarian.  Most of the states already are
following the Compendium guidelines, with a very few having state-specific
modifications within the same theme, and a similar number still going
through the lengthy procedures required by their own state rules and reg.s
to alter health procedures.
 
It may also interest you that there have been multiple medical articles
which indicate that the serious bite instances involving ferrets is about
1/200 per- capita-pet compared with dogs.  Never-the-less, as with all pets
the ultimate responsibility lies with adults using plain old common sense.
We all know that teething mammals (including humans) and battered ones
(including humans) are more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior.  Pet
care, like child care, needs to be gentle and consistent.
 
Nor are ferrets illegal in New York State.  Hmmm, do you spot a pattern
here?
 
Domestic ferrets have been kept as pets for over two thousand years.  You
can read of them in Pliny's works, or admire one in a jeweled collar
looking expectantly up at her mistress, Queen Elizabeth I in either Britain
or on the dust jacket of the new book _The Life of Elizabeth I_ available
in many bookstores.  Perhaps you prefer the portrait done by Leonardo da
Vinci of a young woman cuddling a large male albino ferret?  Would you
enjoy copies of references in this regard?  Among a few dozen from
mammologists and other experts is a marvelously funny 1980s one from Roger
Caras of the ASPCA which is hilarious and beautifully crafted.  (The man is
a genius.)
 
There are only two things on which I agree with Ms. Newkirk.  Ferrets do
tend to escape too often for anyone's comfort, but especially for their's.
You see, they do not survive when that happens.  Yes, I can provide you
with the references on this sub-topic as well should you want them.
 
The second agreement?  Taken in conjunction with the reader posing the
question being in California, I would not advise a ferret for her or others
in her state ONLY because that is one of the only 2 states which still ban
ferrets, despite the evidence and documentation in ferrets' favor which are
available in many locations to any who seek them.  Personally, I just don't
believe in being a scoff-law, also I would worry that should the ferret
escape it's fate would be a tragic one in that state until the laws change
there.
 
May I suggest that those elsewhere who are responsible enough to learn
about an animal before taking actions (or passing along misinformation) go
to the following excellent site which was recently mentioned in the New
York Times: http://www.ferretcentral.org ?
 
Again, please, accept my sympathies on the problems you must be encountering
from having a source you had trusted trash the facts and treat your
publication like a blatant rumor rag.  Both you and your readers deserve
better treatment.
 
Sukie Davis Crandall
 
(Here I put the well worded letter which explained the bit of complete
garbage found in "Jane", and written by a representative of PETA who should
have had the sense to check things before having them published, especially
such exaggerated falsehoods, but you folks read that in FML 2449 so can see
it there.)
[Posted in FML issue 2451]