The case Suki posted about is NOT the case where both parents were
there as well as a pitbull. This case took place in the late '80's.
The father was "passed out" in the home, supposedly not far from the
baby and the mother was supposedly at a bar drinking at the time. I
personally went to several hearings in the '90's in Sacramento for
ferret legalization where the Department if Fish and Game trotted this
girl out for the legislators to see and I watched as Jeanne Carley
valiantly argued that parental neglect was at fault and argued that
ferrets are statistically safer than dogs and cats, etc. After several
years of this, she finally stopped coming to the hearings.

It is VERY unfortunate that this case is resurfacing. I personally had
nightmares that, had there been a ballot measure to legalize ferrets,
DFG (or some other group opposing legalization) would have dragged
her out for one last appearance...on everyone's TV screen, surely
destroying chances of legalization for decades.

Thankfully, that didn't happen, but this latest reincarnation of the
story begs the question: what should ferret owners do in response? In
my opinion, the best thing to do is NOTHING (especially California
people). The more attention we draw to this case, the more it hurts the
cause for legalization in California and elsewhere. If "crazy" ferret
owners inundate TV stations with calls and letters, that itself will
become a story which will spread, along with the story and PICTURES of
the girl. And, the fact of the matter is a ferret DID chew part of this
girls face off and for most people in California (most if whom have
never even seen a ferret), just hearing of this case will bias them
against legalization. And the longer we keep the story alive, the
worse off we'll be.

So let's all take a deep breath and think before we act.

[CF]

[Posted in FML 6489]