Melissa writes
>I know SOME deafness is related to Waardenburg's Syndrome, who's other
>physical characteristics can include fancy color patterns.
>
> ... Deafness is caused by many things, and while in US ferrets it may
>be most commonly associated with WS and certain color patterns, of
>course that is not the only reason ferrets are born deaf.  There is NO
>way to breed deafness out of a population, so we cannot possibly breed
>it INTO one either.
 
MOST deafness in ferrets is related to color patterns.  The following
is from a partial transcript of a presentation by Dr. Brett Middleton
at the 2003 International Ferret Symposium in Atlanta last year.  (Thank
you Wolfy for all your work on this!)
 
>Congenital hereditary sensory neural deafness... is the only kind [of
>deafness] commonly found in any kind of domestic animal.
 
and
 
>There are a number of types of CHS deafness but the only kind we see in
>animals regularly is the kind that's associated with patterns white
>markings: blazes, pandas, white bellies, that sort of thing.
 
So while it is true that selective breeding can neither introduce nor
eliminate deafness, not breeding pandas, blazes, etc, will certainly
GREATLY reduce the number of deaf ferrets.
 
It is also important to point out that these types of genetic syndromes
have variable expression, which means the amount of white, the extent of
deafness and related issues can vary greatly from animal to animal.
 
A deaf blaze can have hearing offspring, and a hearing panda can have
deaf kits.  The only responsible course of action is to STOP BREEDING
AND PROMOTING these patterns.
 
Linda Iroff
International Ferret Congress
http://www.ferretcongress.org
Sign up now for the 2005 International Ferret Symposium!
[Posted in FML issue 4668]