[Moderator's note: The arriving email indicated is was sent to
Fancy Publications as well as to the FML.  BIG]
 
I just saw a copy of your ferret care book which includes an obviously
staged photo of a ferret "stalking" a chicken.  As a zooarchaeologist and
zoologist who specializes in domestication issues, I find the photo to be
inaccurate, misleading and dangerous towards important ferret issues.  As a
ferret owner and lover, I find the photo offensive and insensitive.  I
just recently discovered that not only was the photo staged, but important
portions of the photo which might have communicated it was not an actual
event were removed electronically; i.e. the leash, an integral part of the
staging of the shot which was digitally removed.  This is misrepresentation
of the worst kind, and would make Joe McCarthy proud.  The electronic
manipulation of images without the notification of such changes to the
viewer is abhorrant, and the visual equivelant of lying.
 
As a scientist, I can tell you that I have read almost every possible
reference regarding ferret history, domestication, and hunting, and that
list includes many books and papers written in other languages.  Not once
have I *ever* read that ferrets were used to hunt chickens (or birds in
general), yet the picture and caption combination clearly represent such
an action.  In effect, that picture and caption is a lie, which makes your
book untrustworthy.  Since you actively support the picture and caption,
that makes your editorial decisions also untrustworthy.  I can no longer
trust your products nor your editorial content.
 
I will no longer buy your products, nor will I recommend them to my friends.
I will actively attempt to have your product boycotted in as many venues as
possible, starting at the club and shelter level, and extending through the
national levels.  Furthermore, your lack of understanding of the importance
of these issues, especially in the arena of California ferret legalization,
leads me to believe you are not well-informed about ferrets in general.
Thus, I will recommend to my friends that they not purchase your book, nor
your magazine, Ferrets, nor any other magazine or book published by your
company.  I will ask them to write to your publication, and others,
protesting this lack of editorial responsibility.  I will also urge those
that write for your publications to no longer submit articles and withdraw
articles already submitted.  A couple hundred bucks is a poor payment for
moral and ethical prostitution to a company that does not care the tinest
bit about important ferret issues.  Finally, I will write to your
advertizers, requesting they no longer place ads in your publications
because of your ferret-insensitive views.
 
I am greatly disappointed in your attitude in this matter.  I will forward
this letter to your employers and to the ferret community in general.  It is
obvious the goal of your publishing corporation is profit, not ferrets, and
as such, I cannot morally nor ethically support it.  I think many of my
friends and the ferret community in general will agree.
 
Robert R. Church
Bob C on the FML
[Posted in FML issue 2331]