I did not see the show that Ben Stiller was on, but from everything that
I have heard he did some major damage to our ferret community with his
ignorant tirade.  I am furious that he spoke out the way he did.  He
was not acting as a responsible celebrity but as a spoiled child trying
to retaliate against something he is not educated about.  I am also
disappointed with Jennifer Aniston's comments.  Here are copies of the
letters that I sent to Mr. Stillers agent and to Jay Leno.  I encourage
everyone to write and voice your opinion, and let everyone know that we
are tried of uneducated people affecting our rights to own ferrets.
 
Mr. Stevens,
 
I hope you will forward this letter to your client Mr. Stiller.  I am
truly offended that he has decided to turn his power of his celebrity
into attacking the ferret community in America.  His outrageous
statements on the Jay Leno show were completely out of line and ignorant.
Ferrets are domesticated animals and are bred to be pets.  They have been
domesticated since the time of the Egyptians.  He has absolutely no right
to undermine the hard work of all the responsible ferret owners out there
who are trying to educate people in this country about ferrets not being
dangerous pets, especially the people in California who have worked so
hard to get their rights to be noticed and have the ban on ferrets
lifted.  It is not the ferrets fault that Mr. Stiller was uneducated
about the correct way to handle the ferret.  If he was bit it was due to
mishandling the animal, this could have happened with a cat or dog or any
type of animal that an actor has to work with.  He should have focused
his anger toward the ferrets handler/trainer for not being more careful
about how this animal was handled by the actors.  I can understand that
he was upset over the situation, but it was completely irresponsible and
juvenile for him to speak out against ferret owners and their pets on
national television without educating himself about ferrets and the
heartache that so many ferret owners have had to endure due to small
minded attitudes such as Mr. Stiller's.
 
I hope Mr. Stiller will stop his attacks on the ferret community, and
realize that he is a celebrity and should act like one and realize that
people in America take notice to the things that celebrities say.  He
should be more mindful of his comments, he may not think that it will
hurt people but he has actually done a lot of damage with his comments.
He has alienated a lot of people who are ferret lovers and I hope that he
will realize the damage and hurt that his comments have caused others.
 
I would hope that Mr. Stiller will apologize for his comments and stop
using this incident as a publicity stunt to promote his movie.
 
Ruby Supe
Ferret Owner
 
 
Mr. Leno,
 
I did not see the show that aired with Ben Stiller promoting his new
movie.  But I have heard from numerous sources about the horrendous
comments that he said regarding the ferret that bit him.  I was never a
fan of Mr. Stiller but now I am completely outraged by his comments, as I
am sure that many ferret owners are also.  I am happy that you did not go
along with his bad attitude toward the ferret community.  I do not know
how you feel about the ferret issue but I am grateful that you had the
intelligence and dignity to keep your comments to yourself, That is the
sign of a true professional!  It was irresponsible of him to use his
celebrity to speak out against an issue that he is completely uneducated
about.  His comments have done a lot of damage and hurt a lot of good
people who only want to have the rights they deserve as Americans and
own any domesticated pet that they choose.  I really would appreciate it
if the next time you bring a guest on who is an animal expert you get
someone who is educated about ferrets and who can reverse some of the
damage that Mr. Stiller has done.  (hopefully you can do this soon while
the issue is still on people's minds).
 
Thank you anyway for your professional handling of an awful situation.
 
Ruby Supe
Ferret owner
 
 
If anyone knows of anywhere else that I can write to please let me know.
[Posted in FML issue 4403]