I am so very sorry to publish the statement:  Go ahead ... kill as many
ferrets as you want ... nobody's gonna do anything.
 
But, after being involved in an personal interview in the broadcast studio
of the Seattle radio station KJR, on Friday the 10th of December, along
with the telephone tie-in to Las Vegas with Ms. C.  J.  Jones of the
24-carat ferret rescue shelter, this conclusion of frustration that I feel
may likely be felt by others as well.
 
Iron Mike Tyson, to my way of thinking, is responsible for the starvation
death of one ferret and the near starvation death of a second Marshall
Farms, albino (?) ferret.  Purportedly he faces a $1,000 fine or 6 months
in the clink.
 
I doubt very much that will ever happen.  The reason is that the
responsibility for these two maltreated ferrets was delegated to a Mr.
Darryl Francis, Iron Mike's assistant, so Mr. Francis has said.  Not only
was the responsibility transferred from Iron Mike to Mr. Francis, but also
the ownership of the ferrets was transferred to Mr. Francis.  Does it
appear that Mr. Francis is the "fall guy" for Iron Mike?
 
So as of now, it appears that pending a finding of the local animal control
officials, and the forwarding of animal abuse/neglect charges to the local
DA's office, somebody's going to be charged ... maybe.  Don't hold your
breath on this one.  As pessimestic as I am, I am reminded of the cruelty
perpetrated against a number of ferrets in our own state of Washington,
over in Spokane, not too long ago.  Do you recall what happened when the
facts finally came out?  Nothing happened.  This Spokane Washington ferret
abuse case was much more mortifying than Iron Mikes'.  And it involved a
greater number of ferrets than the two Tyson ferrets.  Yet nothing has come
of it - no punishment at all.
 
Does the fact that this ferret abuse/neglect case involves a famous sports
celebrity give it greater import and publicity than the Spokane atrocity?
One would think so.  But then again, so what?  This will work to the
advantage of the organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
or PETA, in so far that it drives another nail in the coffin of private
ownership of animals as personal pets.  Can you see it coming?  Ferrets,
expecially, are not suited as pets for the public, is what they'll say.
What will you say in the face of these two comparable tragic events, the
Spokane massacre and the Las Vegas massacre?
 
Edward Lipinski  Ferret Endowment for Research, Rehabilitation, Education
& Training Society, NorthWest, aka F. E. R. R. E. T. S. N.W., or more
simply, FNW.
[Posted in FML issue 2895]