> From: Marie Schatz <[log in to unmask]>

>2) I think flooding Senators and Congressman is certainly worth the
>effort. They tend not to care about non-voters but you would think
>they would care hearing that Ohio has a reputation as a white-trash
>animal abusing state which is hardly going to attract high-tech
>companies and workers given their dismal and ongoing unemployment
>rate. And typically they read snail mail more than email.

Huh? I'm not sure that tactic would really work. The unemployment rate
in Ohio as of last Dec was 5.6%, slightly higher than the national
average of 5.1%. Certainly not "dismal", so anyone telling a state rep
that Ohio's unemployment rate is dismal is going to be laughed off,
and not taken seriously. And I doubt that senators and congressman are
going to really believe that high-tech companies are going to be put
off by a ferret breeder practically no one knows about. How many
companies do you think say to themselves, "oh, we can't move to THAT
state - they are known for having "white-trash animal abusers" there."
Given that you could probably find examples of animal abusing breeders
in every state, there would be no place to do business at all.

I understand the frustration, and I don't see anything wrong with
contacting Ohio senators and congressman (particularly if you actually
live in Ohio). But use reasonable arguments that make sense and don't
insult an entire state while you're doing it.

I think that changing/upgrading the laws are going to be the best
solution. Not the quickest, but the best in the long term.

And just another thought on calling in the animal rights groups like
PETA. Be careful. PETA operatives have been known to take animals from
shelters, under the guise of having loving homes prepared to adopt
them, and then they have killed the animals and dumped the bodies (see
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/ and
http://www.courttv.com/news/2007/0118/PETA_ctv.html
a Google search will turn up many more links). Understand that PETA, as
a whole, would rather see animals dead than "enslaved" by humans, and
that includes the ferrets of everyone on this list. They may have been
helpful in some cases, but just be aware of who you may be crawling
into bed with, OK?

Karen

[Posted in FML 5530]