>From:    "Carl.Baewer" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: What happens to Adrenal Ferrets ?
>For those of you who do call, please post your results on the FML for all to
>see!  Also is there any proof at all that supports the idea that Marshall
>Farm ferrets get adrenal disease because they operate on them to early, if
>so I would sure love to have that information.
 
Well said.  Some of those who are convinced Marshall Farms ferrets "will"
get adrenals are in the shelter biz.  In stable areas its medically ill
animals that can't be paid for that make up a large portion of the ferrets
turned in.  In transient areas (like Woodbridge VA) there are far fewer of
these.  Most of the ferrets turned in to us are owner reloaction type issues
due to the high number of military families.  The only proof offered is
non-scientific studies and surveys.  The scientists here tend to discount
them as proof.  There is however a reasonable question as to whether the
early operations cause an increase in probability of problems in this area.
Note carefully, an increase in probability not a certainty.  Most ferrets do
not get adrenal tumors.  Not all adrenal patients are early altered ferrets
either.  There is something else involved.  Other theories involve unknown
elements in the diet and un-natural lighting (household light as opposed to
natural sunlight rhythms).  None are "better" than the others without
testing.
 
>From:    Alicia K Drakiotes <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: the DEBATE-- another point
>What we do know is that NY does NOT require they spay / neuter process to
>be administered by a veterinarian.  That is a very scary thought. They ship
>more than 90,000 each year -- how many did not make it through the
>spay/neuter descent process at the hands of a non licensed practitioner?
 
Our human son gets much treatment not from a doctor but from a nurse
practicioner.
 
And tell us.  How many?  Do any die?  I'd expect its possible and even
likely.  Ferrets though can die on a vets operating table.  We've lost some
during surgeries.  (not our surgeries but those done by well respected vets
in good environments)
 
This is a scare tactic not a reporting of facts.  You started with a fact
about NY requirements but then go into an emotional appeal that implies many
ferrets die on the operating table.  But you don't state information about
that.  Was it one ferret?  A hundred?  Ten thousand?  The reaction would be
different to those very different numbers.
 
Do not expect us to knock veterinarians - my grandfather was a vet in St
Louis.  But this is different.  It is an assembly line procedure that does
not require diagnosis of medical condition.  My step-sister was a student at
Virginia Tech years ago.  She was not a vet student but as part of a class
she performed the sterilization of a ram (male sheep).  This type of work is
not uknown in the agricultural world.  You can choose not to like it and you
can choose to fight to change it.  But you should work on the law or
regulations involved.  Then Marshall Farms and all the other ranches in
ferrets and all other species would have to comply.
 
bill and diane
killian zen and the
art of ferrets mailto:[log in to unmask]  mailto:[log in to unmask]
http://www.zenferret.com/
[Posted in FML issue 1985]