Bob Church writes
>I asked everyone to sign Linda Iroff's petition and everyone promised to
>do so.
 
Thanks Bob and welcome back from your trip, which seems to have been even
more exciting than you planned.  Hope your truck recovers quickly!
 
But just to clarify, this is not MY petition!  It is mostly the hard work
of Dr. Sandra Kudrak and sympathetic people at the USDA, and is supported
by a wide range of ferret people and organizations.
 
For more information on the petition, see http://www.ferretcongress.org
 
Below is another sample letter for those who aren't sure what to write.
 
This one was written by Sukie Crandall, and is posted with her
permission.
 
Many blessings on those who have already written the USDA and their
Congressional reps!!
 
Linda Iroff
----------
I wanted to let you know that I strongly agree with Dr. Sandra Kudrak DVM
who recently has made the USDA aware of the problems facing ferrets due
to a lack of ferret-specific standards.
 
So many times I have entered pet stores only to find myself seeing
kits who have been removed from their mothers at too young an age: kits
who are emaciated because they can't eat kibble, kits who have rectal
prolapses due to being unable to tolerate the food for adult ferrets,
kits who simply have no idea how to get along with others because they
are too young.  All too many of the latter arrive in our ferret shelters
needing care and guidance; they work out in the long term with
knowledgeable care but this problem could be so easily avoided.
 
Far too many times I found myself in tears over ferrets who have died of
heat stroke on tarmacs because the transporters have not known enough to
understand that their temperature limitations are more strict than those
for kittens or puppies.
 
There are just too many situations in which ferret kits have suffered
needlessly and medical care has been required at a very young age due
to a lack of ferret-specific standards.
 
Because these problems are ones which can be overcome, often with fair
and economically viable solutions it would be great boon to the millions
of ferret owners in the United States if the USDA reviewed and adopted
the answers provided by knowledgeable veterinarians such as Dr. Kudrak.
 
 --------
Send to
 
Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman
1400 Independence Ave SW Room 312-E
Whitten Building
Washington, DC 20250
[log in to unmask]
202-720-3631
 
Bobby Acord, Administrator of the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service
1400 Independence Ave SW Room 200-A
Whitten Building
Washington, DC 20250
[log in to unmask]
202-720-3668, Fax 202-720-3054
 
  and
 
Your federal congressional delegation.
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
[Posted in FML issue 4480]