I heard back from one of the folks I know and trust in the Ecology and
Evolution Dept.  at Stony Brook.
 
The incident with the ferrets did take place at Stony Brook, but not only
was it not sanctioned, it was not research, and it did NOT involve a
professor or even a graduate student.  An undergraduate did it about 15
years ago, thinking that it would be research and then the you-know-what
hit the fan.  It led to even tighter writing of guidelines which had
already been strict.
 
So, it happened but PETA falsely attributed it to a graduate student
and a professor and PETA falsely tried to pass it off as an example of
research.
 
Helps sometimes to know good and trusted people in just the right
place... At least we know the reality now.  It wasn't staged by PETA
but it was falsely portrayed by them.
[Posted in FML issue 4077]