>Is Eric Corbett, denying sending letters to vets?  Or saying that he
>believes, the letters he sent were not threatening? ....two vets who use
>fipronil, received letters from him in which he states that, unless he
>receives a response from them.... in seven days he will report their use
>to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.  Does he, believe that such
>a letter is not threatening?  Can he justify why he believes that, he
>has the right to write to other people's vets, about their treatment of
>other people's ferrets?
 
Let's be clear.  The off-label use of Frontline on ferrets to treat
fleas and ticks is not the point at issue.  (Off-label means a product
authorised for the same condition in another species or a different
condition in the same species).  My dispute is with those who have
advocated the use of drops of Frontline introduced into the ear canal, a
practice that the manufacturer and every competent veterinary authority
recognises as potentially dangerous.
 
I have been interested to hear of the successes that have been reported
following the approved topical application of Frontline in the treatment
of ear mites.  But once again, this is not the point at issue.
 
It is not the use of Frontline on ferrets that I take issue with; it's
the unnecessarily dangerous method of application.  Certain individuals
have taken it upon themselves to promote the intraural use of Frontline
and have claimed that their own vets support them in that use.  I cannot
see how simply asking those vets whether they do in fact hold the
opinions being ascribed to them can be described as threatening.
 
Veterinary surgeons will obviously make their own clinical judgments
about treatments for specific animals, and that is indeed a matter
between the vet and the owner.  But when vets, and others, publish
articles for consumption by the general ferret owning public endorsing
the routine introduction of Frontline drops into the ear canal, in spite
of its undenied potential for ototoxic effects when used in that way, I
believe that raises issues of professional misconduct that need to be
addressed by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
 
Eric Corbett
[Posted in FML issue 4393]