Josephine Hansen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>I don't mean to upset anyone, but, the whole thing about quarantine is in
>my opinion ridiculous, a simple proof of rabies vaccin should be more than
>enough!
 
Well, for one thing, there's no approved rabies vaccine for ferret here, so
if anyone smuggled in those vaccinated in the US, how would anyone know if
it was effective?  Dogs and cats can be vaccinated, but they aren't allowed
to travel abroad and return unless they also have proof of effective
anti-body production.  Apparently only 60-70% of dogs get it.
 
>If the fuzzie owners that smuggled their babies had that, i don't see
>the reason to flame them.
 
I do: It gives the authorities reason to test ferrets for rabies.
 
>Rabies is a problem, i agree, but there are no quarantine for wild animals
>crossing the borders (which happens every day) or birds flying over.
 
Yes, bats crossing straights is a concern, and lots have been tested
here in Sweden, none positive for rabies as yet.
 
>I am pretty certain i would seriously considder smuggling my babies if i
>had to, and i don't think it would make me an irresponsible ferret owner.
 
Of course you wouldn't think so. I would.
 
>How many known cases have been reported of ferrets having rabies?
 
Only a few, but that's not really of any importance.  Try to understand:
We've only had _one_ case of rabies here in over a century, and that was a
human who had been bitten abroad.  The reports of a possibly rabid dog in
Sweden very nearly caused a panic, since if it had been, then any dog in
that area, which bit, scratched or "looked funny at" someone would have
been at risk of loosing its head.  No rabies: Heads stay in place.  And
note it only takes suspected rabies to start testing.
 
Also, rabies isn't the only nasty thing stopped by quarantine.
What's wrong with our quarantine rules is that they're mostly
made to protect people and economically valuable animals, so
there's no testing for Aleuthean Disease.
 
>Most countries affected by rabies demand yearly vaccinations, and a lot
>of countries where they dont't have rabies vaccinate anyway,
 
I can tell you that over here, rabies vaccine was only approved a very few
years ago, and then only for dogs and cats.  Which of the other countries
with no rabies have approved vaccines?  (I think the complete list is New
Zealand, Australia, Madagascar, Hawaii, Eire, The United Kingdom and
Norway.  At least that's the places where you can bring in animals from
without quarantine -- but with some other restrictions.)
--
Urban Fredriksson    [log in to unmask]
http://www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/ferrets/
[Posted in FML issue 2505]