There is a lot of "call this authority" "call that authority".
I called on a breeder in MI once and actually talked a highly
overworked USDA inspector to inspecting (he was licensed) this guy
against her will and judgement. Despite conditions that we would think
horrific, he was just told to clean poop more and unfreeze the water.
Which I'm sure he did for all of 2 weeks.

You have to understand - Federal, State, County, City etc. standards
for abuse are VERY LOW. Frankly I'm not sure there are any sometimes.
And if the person is licensed to breed and sell at a wholesale level
the standards are even lower. And boycotting him from onesie twosie
sales won't help because he is probably wholesaling them for retail
(can anyone confirm this?) And no govt official will immediately just
ride in like the calvary - they will cite, make recommendations for
improvement. If any small improvement is made by the second visit they
probably won't come back, they are totally understaffed and overwhelmed
with the numbers and levels of abuse and violators.

1) I truly think that trying to find sympathetic lawyers who will
commit some time to going the legal route - both against DM and getting
the laws changed is the only way to really do anything about this.
BIG - how many times has he come up? Nothing changes. If a fund can
be developed to pay some lawyers that would be great although I
think volunteer legal time is the only way as its too expensive.
[Offhand I don't recall an exact number -- but many times!  BIG]

2) I think its essential to get a big national group involved, if you
can, if your lucky. They can get media coverage, they have lawyers, and
they are trained in shutting this sort of place down. YOU DON"T HAVE TO
AGREE WITH EVERYONE OF THEIR TENETS. YOU DONT HAVE TO LIKE THEM. Maybe
if they were running an Auschwitz or something you wouldn't want to
call but get real, they are not despite them using some tactics many
disagree with.

No compromise means no action and the ferrets will continue to be
abused year after year.

I think the good ferret owners of Ohio have tried shutting him down
with all the suggested ways in the past. You have to up the ante or
its simply not going to happen. It will just be another flurry of
posts on FML that will again fade with time.

Mary in Nebraska

[Posted in FML 5529]