I agree that there is a risk associated with vaccines, but it's still a
fact that more people (and animals) have died from preventable diseases
which could have been avoided by getting vaccines.  There are still far
fewer people who have had bad reactions or died as a result of getting
vaccines.  We have to look at the overall picture, if the benefits
outweigh the possible risks.  If a person or animal has an allergic
reaction to a vaccine then chances are they will probably not be helped
if they actually came down with the actual disease that the vaccine is
supposed to prevent.  I think I'd rather take my chances with the
vaccines than to not get them.  In many poor countries people are dying
everyday from preventable diseases because they don't have access to the
most basic vaccines.
 
I'm not sure who said that there are not any proven vaccines for ferrets,
but that is not true.  Some states, such as California, don't want to
acknowledge that vaccines have been tested and proven effective for
ferrets simply because they don't want it to become legalized to have
ferrets in those states.  So of course they are going to deny the
evidence.  That's nothing new; they've been claiming the same thing for
years despite all the studies and physical proof.  Of course there is
always going to be more of a risk with some vaccines than others and in
those cases you have to ask yourself whether it's really neccesary or
not.
 
If an animal is not going to be in contact with other animals and does
not spend time outside where there is more exposure to disease, then you
might feel it's unneccesary.  For example: My sister and her husband have
a flying squirrel and he has never needed any vaccines because he is not
exposed to other animals.  The vet said there has never been a reported
case of a flying squirrel having rabies, because of several factors.  So
in this case a rabies shot is not needed.  But with most animals,
especially ones that come in contact with other animals, then yes I think
it's better to get the vaccines.  It's one thing to mention the possible
risks of vaccines, but to dismiss them entirely is sending out the wrong
message to people because vaccines really do save a lot of lives.
[Posted in FML issue 4112]