It has happened again.  On Sunday, November 17, 1996, a 14 month old child
entered a pet store here in NJ with it's mother.  The child was either
allowed by the mother or the mother did not adequately supervise the child
(I'm not sure which is the case right now) and the child put a finger into a
cage holding two 9-10 week old kits.  These kits came from a small local
breeder who asserts that both parents of the kits were vaccinated against
rabies.  Due to their age, the kits had not been vaccinated.  One of the
kits aalegedly nipped the child.  There were no eyewitnesses, so it is
unknown if the child was actually nipped or scratched.
 
The childs mother at first agreed to a ten day quarantine, and the local
health department official, John Van Eis, told me "I will abide with
whatever the parents and child's doctor decide".  The law in NJ is very
vague about whether rabies testing or quaratine should be enforced.  Also,
this incident took place in Hunterdon County, a very progressive area,
animal wise, who recently reclassified llama's as livestock from exotic.
 
After the child was seen by her pediatrician, the pediatrician apparently
has the parents bent over with worry.  They are now asking for rabies
testing.  I spoke at length with the pet store owners, who are welcoming any
help from the ferret community that they can get.  This is a small
independantly run store, and the owners seem very concerned over the plight
of these ferrets, not for the almighty dollar, but out of true caring.
 
I got the name of the pediatrician attending the child, and called both Dr.
Bruce WIlliams and Dr. Freddiann Hoffman for thier help.  I feel that if the
Pediatrician involved gets the facts from his peers, we might be able to see
a happy ending here.  The mother still seems to think a quaratine is
suitable, the father seems to be the one that the Pediatrician is getting
to.  (Drs.  Williams and Hoffman- thank you for all of your help.)
 
I will know in the morning what has come of all of this.  Hopefully all will
have been resolved.  I have also given the pet store owners other solutions-
including a "California Fire Drill"- you can all read between the lines as
to what I am refering to here.
 
In the mean time- We may need some letter writing help.  I will try to pass
the word on as quickly as I learn anything via private e-mail, and a post to
the FML.
 
-Anne Ryan
 President
 Ferret Enthusiasts for Education and Legislation
[Posted in FML issue 1760]