Hi,
 
This is just a follow-up to Outlawdook's post.  For anyone who doesn't have
web access, the photo that Outlawdook refers to on the South Florida Ferret
Club & Rescue's web page is also on page 54 of Modern Ferret #22 (which
will be out soon).  The photo was published as a companion to an article on
club and shelter fundraising written by Michael Janke of the SFFC&R.  We
were obligated to run the photo as part of the photo contest (publication
was part of the "prize").  We didn't receive any disclaimer from the SFFC&R
that the dog and ferret get along or that dogs and ferrets need to be
supervised.
 
We presume that Kym Isear (who submitted the third-place winning photo)
loves her ferret and wouldn't have taken the picture if the dog was trying
to harm the ferret.  But someone *might* construe the photo as the dog
trying to harm the ferret.  Just as we presumed that the owner of Lola
Bunny and Bo knew her animals and loved them and so did not take a photo
of her pets killing each other.  This is common sense.
 
I am surprised that Barbara Ludt is not outraged that her own organization
doesn't live up to her standards for careful publication of potentially
damaging/dangerous photos.  Why does Barbara Ludt hold us to a standard
that she can't even get her own organization to uphold?  Does she really
believe in that standard?
 
Why has Modern Ferret been put in the position of running editorial to help
support an organization that, through one of its spokespeople (Barbara
Ludt), is now attacking us?  Why did Barbara Ludt wait until AFTER there
was some indication that the issue with her organization's article was in
print (no way to cut the article) before she decided to speak out against
us?  Certainly she saw the photos in Modern Ferret about a month ago.
 
Perhaps the thing that bothers me the most is what Barbara Ludt said to
Eric when *he called her* to find out what was upsetting her (she never
actually contacted us about her objections to the photos -- her fax just
said she was appalled, but not *why* she was appalled).  She told him she
hoped people would start sending us the dead bodies of their rabbits.
*THAT* is appalling.
 
Mary & the Fuzzy Nine
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[Posted in FML issue 2643]