Anne wrote:
>The ADV press release was written by myself and a non-ferret owning (read
>between the lines--doesn't care about politics!) professional PR person.
>I am not a breeder, never have been.  I run an equal opportunity shelter
>(Fuzztek Central).  So there was no politics involved.  Just the fact that
>I as the president of LIFE have worked closely with people from the AFA,
>as well as a couple people who were affiliated with FURO, should show how
>apolitical this entire situation is.
 
Just my opinion, but I feel that all 'blame' (e.g.  mention of where this
supposedly originated from) could have just been left out of the release
altogether, and no-one would have had a problem with it.  I agree that
something needs to be done about Aleutians, as well as Adrenal, Insulinoma,
Lymphosarcoma, Cardiomyopathy (et al) portioning out blame, whether
intentionally or not, only makes the whole issue 'fuzzy'
 
>The release never said NZ ferrets were being imported and spreading ADV.
>It simply said that some of the breeders that ADV has been linked back to
>are breeding these types of ferrets.  It didn't say anything more, or
>anything less.  Please stop trying to read between the lines.  Rumour
>mongering is what this press release was tring to stop.  The idea is to
>step in and HELP MAKE A CHANGE!
 
Virtually anyone reading that report would see Texas, Michigan, New Zealand
and all the other places mentioned, and automatically think that all those
places were Aleutians areas.  Now, Michigan gets mentioned a lot, but I
know that not everyone in Michigan has Aleutian-positive ferrets.  What
happens to breeders and shelters in Michigan, for instance, when people
start saying "Well I read this press release about this incurable disease,
and it said that the disease came from Michigan"?  All of a sudden, the
already burgeoning shelter population will become even worse.  Human nature
dictates that a lot of people are going to read between the lines, and also
that they will spread the news by word of mouth, and that word *will* be
changed (even if ever so slightly) in the saying.  Best, in my opinion, to
have left areas out completely and simply stated that people need to test
their animals, or be aware of the dangers.
 
>When something was stated without words like "reported", "strong evidence
>suggests", or "potential", it meant just that.  There is no FACT or PROOF
>to back it up.  Just that there is anecdotal evidence, substantial hearsay,
>or a written report from another source to that extent.  The PR was very,
>very clear when there was no fact or proof.  No less than 30 people read it
>before it went out to check for facts, errors and ommissions.  Some were
>AFA folks, some were LIFE folks, and a few are just not affiliated at all.
 
Same as above applies here.  What is written and what is meant, and what is
READ are often three totally different things.
 
>Sam and the Chessums and I have straightened this all out in private
>e-mails.  No one was attacking any of them, or trying to hurt their cause.
>I think anyone who knows me understands how strongly I feel about the
>rights of the public to own domestic ferrets.
 
Matter of interest, but someone *was* attacking me personally on this very
issue months ago.  No, you were not that person, and no, I doubt you were
ever involved in the vicious rumours originally spread about myself, and
New Zealand ferrets in particular.
 
>I am not involved in any lynch mob who is out to get anyone for "political
>reasons".  Yes, there are some breeders I would like to be shut down, but
>these breeders are supplying ferrets to pet stores and shoddy distributors,
>and that is my reason for wanting them shut down, not because of any other
>reason.  I don't breed, so it is not "sour grapes" as has been suggested,
>nor is it that I want to run someone out of business so I can take over
>their territory (which I thought was a pretty ridiculous statement).
 
You aren't, but others are.  I'm small enough so that most people really
don't give a toss about what I do, however since I was involved with
another breeder in the US who has continually faced attacks by various
people over there I ended up being one of those in the sidelines who got
caught in the crossfire.  Truthfully, I don't really care who is involved
in spreading these rumours, I want to see the rumours end.
 
[Post in two parts... combined here.  BIG]
 
>Judy had concerns over the "quarantine".  What was meant is that steps
>have been taken to set up facilities for ferrets to go to if they are ADV
>positive.  Let me explain this a little more.  If a shelter gets in an
>ADV+ ferret, instead of keeping it and risking infection of the other
>ferrets in the shelter, they can now turn the ferret over to one of the
>other shelters who has set up a a permenant care facility.  This will help
>keep the risk of spread much lower, and will greatly relieve many
>concerned shelter owners, who were facing thoughts of having to destroy
>one to protect the many.
 
Good idea.  One niggling worry here - how will the shelters know the ferret
is ADV positive?  Will the shelters test their newcomers in the initial vet
examination when they arrive?  After all, they'll be quarantined then
anyway... Maybe someone can make a deal with United to get the price of the
tests down?  Any thoughts on that?  I sure know that a lot of people balk
at testing all their ferrets because of the price of testing.  Maybe the
test itself can be changed/improved/made cheaper so people with shelters or
breeders (the most important ones for the tests) can afford to get it done.
 
>Also, the definition of "hobby breeder" is a smaller breeder who basically
>is not a "mill".
 
Personally, I had no problem with the usage of 'hobby' breeder.  Some
people have a problem because some slant a negative connotation on 'hobby
breeder' vs 'backyard breeder'.  A hobby, IMO is something that a person
loves doing, and pays for out of their own pocket.  e.g.  if you have a
hobby collecting miniature cars, you'll do that on your own time with your
own money, really not expecting any return except seeing the cars and
keeping them in good condition.  Personally, I feel 'hobby breeder' (for
me) has a positive connotation.  My bank doesn't agree LOL I'm a hobby
breeder.  I do it solely because I love doing it.  Last year I lost around
$1,000 on the single litter I raised.  This year I didn't even want to
count.  The film costs alone are $USD30 a week - although this year, I
managed to do the early weeks with a digital camera, which saved on costs
(necessary with the cost of food!) I daren't consider the price of food,
supplements, vet visits etc, for fear my bank would shoot me LOL To me,
this *is* a hobby, usually an enjoyable one.  Unfortunately, because of the
costs, for the past two years I have been considering no longer breeding,
and may be looking at neutering my remaining whole animals within the next
year as a result.
 
>As far as how the medical testing will be done, I am not the one to answer
>that question.  Perhaps Pat Stauffer or Yvonne DeCarlo, who were two of
>the vet techs who have worked on this issue can shed some light on that.
 
Any medical testing will have to be done with a large number of animals.
In the case of rabies, a large number died for testing, a large number
never got sick, too.  It is, unfortunately, a case of weighing the numbers.
Without the tests on rabies, large numbers of ferrets will have already
died because of the kill/test law which have since changed as a direct
result of the tests done by the Morris Foundation.  I can't remember where
I have this figure, or even if the following figure is true or not (please
correct me if I'm wrong) but I believe somewhere I read there were over 20
ferrets a week dying because of the kill/test laws.  If this is the case,
then within a year over a thousand ferrets will have been saved.
 
This also may help with the California issue (I believe they were at one
time putting forward ferrets as a big rabies risk, which was proven false
by the test) No, I don't know that I would want one of my ferrets in an
experiment.  However, nor do I think they are suitable for testing either,
since most labs (I believe) want to have had control over their
diet/neutering, and likely want animals of a specific age/background which
is similar to other animals - to ensure a fairly even 'base line' for the
tests.
 
Back on this whole Aleutians issue... no, I don't blame Anne for what she
sent in.  I do believe that it could have been worded a little more careful
- even though it was apparently checked by many people, sometimes things
aren't seen no matter how many people look at it prior to release.
 
Someone felt that I had been overly defensive on this issue.  Well, yes, I
probably was.  However, the point still stands.  We, as a group (including
Anne and others) are interested in one thing: finding a preventative and
cure for this illness.  No interest at ALL in politics.  No interest in
putting down one person to pull up another.  Just the ferrets, and their
wellbeing.
 
I've said my piece on this issue, and then some (as you probably know, I
can't shut up once I've started!) Now that we've aired out the problems
with the press release, maybe we can get to the problem at hand...
 
How do we find a cure and preventative for Aleutians?
 
Sam
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful
committed people can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead
 
If everyone got together ferrets would be treated fairly.
http://www.ferretfans.net
[Posted in FML issue 2945]