In my never-ending quest to own a copy of every ferret reference in
existence, I have just purchased a copy of Karen Dale Dustman and Renee
Stockdale 1998 "Ferrets: For Today's Pet Owner," published by the same
people who bring you the various "Ferrets" publications. This is NOT to be
confused with Modern Ferret, which is published by Mary and Eric, owned by
a handful of very inquistive and sweet carpet monkeys (and one very ill
one, poor fella).
Those who have read this list for some time will know that I have
traditionally refused to review any of the current ferret books on the
market. I do this for several reasons; its hard for most ferret people to
write to scientific standards, I personally expect more (which isn't fair to
other people), and anything positive is a good thing even if some of the
details are off. I am breaking that tradition with this post, because of a
single glaring mistake that as a ferret lover I cannot look past.
Inside this newly-printed book is a picture of a ferret stalking a chicken,
with a caption stating ferrets have traditionally been involved in hunting
rats and rabbits. Between the caption and the photo, you get the distinct
impression that the ferret is hunting the chicken. While this may or may
not be true with wild mustelids, I know of *NO* instance where ferrets have
*ever* been used to hunt birds, anc certainly no the the USA. But now,
there is a photo published in a ferret book of such an event. Can you
imagine the damage it can do to the legalization efforts in CaCa Land? I
can just see the wonderful lady Jeanne Carley telling legislators that
ferrets are not a serious threat to native birds or commercial poultry
interests, with the Fishing Gestapo walking behind, passing out photocopies
of the picture and telling people it came from a ferret-friendly book. I'll
bet my bacula it will be used against the ferret legalization efforts in
some type of capacity.
In a search of my extensive ferret-related database (the references start
with Aristophanes and have just recently included this volume, with perhaps
5000 papers and books in between, written in more than 10 languages), not
once is it mentioned that ferrets are used to hunt domestic chickens. In
fact, I find zero references in which ferrets have ever been used to hunt
any type of bird, much less a chicken. Since the references detail the
hunting of rabbits and small rodents in great detail, it is clear that from
the omission of birds from the list that ferrets are not used to hunt our
avian friends.
I would love to urge each member of the FML to voice their displeasure by
not buying the book, by writing the publisher and telling them in no
uncertain terms that you will not buy the book and why, by sending letters
to the editors of Modern Ferret and Ferrets complaining about the picture
being in the book, publishing this info in club and shelter newsletters, and
by informing your local bookstores about the problem and request they not
stock the book, but I cannot ethically do that. I am a firm believer in
freedom of speech, and do not advocate book boycott in any form. You cannot
have an open and honest debate of the issues without the opposition having
the same rights as you to voice their opinion. If I had a choice between
eliminating a single book--for ANY reason--or walk behind it and struggle to
overcome problems resulting from misinformation, I would choose the later
without hesitation. You have to do what you think is right, by your own
standards of ethics and accountability.
But what I will do is break my tradition of not evaluating ferret books by
publically stating that there are a lot of books about ferrets in the
marketplace, and none of them have a ferret-stalking-a-chicken photo
included for our entertainment. I would buy ALL of those books first before
I spent money on this one. This is not just because of the photo; yes, it
is offensive, but rather, its about the trustworthiness of the information
the author or publisher puts out on display. This photo shows me that
either the publisher didn't care to know the current issues or historical
facts about ferrets, or the author didn't. If you see that sort of
misinformation being incorporated into a book that ferret novices will
read--and interpret as gospel--then you have to wonder if ANY of their
information is correct.
Some might point out that it might seem two-faced to blast a book showing
chicken hunting and not mention books that say ferrets were domesticated by
the Egyptians. Well, in the first case, the picture can easily become a
focus of bad PR. In the later case, it is just a myth lacking believable
evidence, BUT IT DOSN'T HURT US! It is a myth, but it is harmless. The
picture (with caption) is likewise a myth, but it can do horrible damage to
legalization efforts across America.
As I said in the beginning, I don't evaluate ferret books because anything
positive helps us all. But the inclusion of a photo showing a ferret
stalking a chicken has the potiential to harm all of us, especially those in
CaCa Land. For that reason, for my mistrust of the remainder of the
publication because of a demonstrated lack of understanding about the nature
of working ferrets, and for the authors' and publisher's inability to
understand the current ferret issues, I cannot recommend this book. I give
it both thumbs down.
Bob C and 20 MO Chickivores.....Not
[Posted in FML issue 2321]
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