>January 28, 2000-Crownsville, MD and North Brunswick, NJ-The American
>Ferret Association (AFA) and the League of Independent Ferret Enthusiasts
>(LIFE) announced today a joint campaign against Aluetians Disease Virus...
 
It would appear that this type of campaign is something that's long over
due and I'm glad something is finally being done, but I believe some
statements contained in Anne's post are erroneous.
 
1. "There are confirmed epizootic type outbreaks of ADV in Eastern PA and
Southern TX, and reported outbreaks in New Zealand and the UK..."
 
I know someone that recently adopted a kit from Sam Young in New Zealand,
as I did myself last year.  The *fact* is that every ferret that is
exported from NZ has to be accompanied by a "Zoo Sanitary Certificate" from
the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, New Zealand.  On that health
certificate is the statement: "No case of rabies or Aleutian disease has
ever occurred in New Zealand." The certificate further states that the
animal(s) described "have been resident in New Zealand since birth" and
"have been held in captivity since birth." This would certainly seem to
dispute Anne's *theory* of "reported outbreaks in NZ".  I see no reason
for false information to be on the certificate since NZ is attempting to
ban ferrets...surely true outbreaks of ADV would be highly publicized as
beneficial to that cause.
 
2. "Many of the outbreaks can be directly tied to "hobby" type breeders,
particularly those who are breeding ferrets imported from Canada, New
Zealand and England."
 
Is this statement, again seemingly set forth as a "fact", something that
can be proven?  I have long been under the impression that ferrets were
being imported by a large number of breeders from countries that have low
or zero incidences of insulinoma, adrenal disease, etc., to breed with and,
hopefully, make our American ferrets more resistant to those diseases.  At
the ferret shows I have attended, every breeder I talked to (including some
AFA judges) proudly claimed German, English, New Zealand, Australian blood
in their ferrets.  I believe this is a good thing.  I would hate to see
breeders *scared off * from importing healthier ferrets simply due to
rumors falsely stated as "facts".
 
Also, for my own admittedly limited education, what is a "hobby" type
breeder, Anne?  Is this someone who does not raise ferrets for a
living...as opposed to someone that does?  I have often read here that
breeders do not make much money, if any, from breeding ferrets...did I
misunderstand or misread somewhere?  Are people making a living as
breeders...as opposed to doing it as a "hobby" (which I would assume is due
to their love of ferrets)?  Can you clarify the term "hobby breeders"?
 
3. "The AFA and LIFE have taken action on several fronts in order to stem
the potential for epizootic incidence.  The targeted issues are quarantine
of ADV infected animals; education of the public; and development of a more
efficient diagnostic tool and a vaccine."
 
Well, the education of the public and development of a more efficient
diagnostic tool and vaccine seem like a great idea to me.  However, I have
a suspicion that any attempt by any organization to force "quarantine of
ADV infected animals" will most likely result in ADV positive cases going
unreported and/or denied.  How far would quarantine measures go?  Would
people with ADV positive animals be "required" to turn the ferrets over to
ADV specific shelters?  Only a small portion of ferret people attend shows,
so banning from shows would hardly be very effective.
 
On a more positive note, I applaud Dr. Karen's desire to attempt to come
up with a better test and research a possible vaccine.  I feel it is an
extremely worthy and much needed cause to donate to.
 
Judy
[Posted in FML issue 2943]