Regarding the proposed changes to USDA shipping regulations. I am not
opposed to changes, I am opposed to changes that do not accomplish
anything but are full of loopholes. I have concerns based upon many
hours of booking and shipping. Since most of you do not ship ferrets,
and I do ( slams ), I have occasion to see what goes in and out of the
airline cargos, talk to the vets/inspectors/customs officials at hubs,
see how the shipments are handled, etc.
1. The USDA has quidelines, but so do the airlines. They want the
ferrets to be 8 weeks or older, and want the veterinary health
certificate to state that. Do they open their mouth and ask them to
"say ahhhh"--not a chance. They look at the veterinarian's health
certificate. Any company veterinarian can write 8 weeks if the boss
says to.
2. Imports--these can come by air or truck or boat. Will they be
regulated, and how? Regulation implies fines, penalties, refusal of
acceptance, losing a license, etc. How will imports be regulated?
3. Companies that routinely euthanize ferrets that are 7-8 weeks or
older when there are no pet store buyers, and we are talking about a lot
of dead ferrets every week--will they change their policies and practices
or just kill more ferrets, particularly males that may appear larger?
Will they breed them to be smaller than they already are so as to pass
them through as younger than they are, dental exam no problem if the
ferret is about the right size because then the vet certificate would be
referenced. The only inspected shipments are likely to be questionable
ones upon visual inspection, (and it is pretty hard to look into wooden
crates nailed shut) in which case the health certificate would be pulled
and reviewed. Wooden crates with 25 kits in them are not easy to
inspect.
4. Will there be allowances made for ferrets designated as laboratory
animals--week old kits shipped with their lactating mother, for instance
5. Pet stores that send ferrets that are 8-10 weeks or older to the
animal shelter, but usually dispose of them so that they will not go
on record as disposing of them--they want ferrets with a "shelf life."
Consumer demand is for small kits whether anyone likes it or not, and
may always be. How will pet stores change their marketing? Maybe local
breeders can supply them with kits that do not require shipping. They
can quickly grow to look 8 weeks, but may not be spayed or neutered,
and may never be spayed or neutered and dumped out to run wild as has
happened in one NC county around 20 years ago. Maybe they will do what
the stores in SC did when ferrets were illegal to sell. They "gave"
them away with a cage purchase. When legalized, they were required to
vaccinate them for rabies. They did. They vaccinated kits that would
fit in the palm of your hand-I called the state veterinarian to chat
about it, and he said that they had a loophole again. Distributers with
papers saying that the large ferret company they came from had vaccinated
them for rabies even though vaccination of a ferret that age would not
give an immunity. Loopholes.
6. Are all inspectors honest? Do they ever take bribes........??
7. What will happen to shipments that are refused if not refused at the
point of origin? Will the kits sit somewhere waiting for a decision to
be made by someone who probably isn't in their office? If reversed,
reversed to where? Usually reaching a destination quickly by air, the
kits may now be stuck somewhere with no food and water because they are
crated and unclaimed.
8. I ship in cat kennels, usually one or two to a kennel, going to
someone who has requested shipping and I do it safely all the time,
with careful planning and patience on the part of everyone involved.
But I can foresee some problems with regulating the sale and
transportation of kits. It is well intended, so was SC law, just
difficult to enforce. As soon as one company finds the loophole, so
will the others. I have been accused of being someone who would not
want the current polices changed---bad me, shame on me, I suppose. All
sorts of insinuations and accusations are being directed towards me
under the pretense of " legitimate questions." I have clarified my
comments made to the USDA, I hope, from my perspective to everyone's
satisfaction, but the inquisition ended some time ago, and I want it
noted that female bickering, sobbing for sympathy, and
small-mindedness are not my thing. People who define what is reputable
in terms of breeding as what they themselves do, are the smallest of
the small , because they feel the need to elevate themselves. But
as for judging me, I do not like inquisitions by the FML panel of
self-proclaimed experts, so I am not avoiding your questions, I am
just ignoring them.
--kathy jordan, carolina ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 5024]
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