I am just venting and asking anyone who would be willing to help to do so.
 
This weekend I went to the the Milwaukee County Zoo with my cousin.
(Milwaukee is concidered to be one of the top zoos in the country so I think
that I was even more concerned about the situation.) We headed over to the
petting zoo since they have ferrets there and I always take the opportunity
to visit ferrets (even with my own at home).
 
Well we got over to the petting area and I got very irritated.  They had two
ferrets.  Beautiful and well cared for animals.  That was not the problem.
The problem was the sign that they had for the ferrets.  It said "Ferrets
Habitat: Woodlands, and Fields".  They were domestic ferrets that they were
showing and they DO NOT live in woods or fields!  The rest of the animals
had the word domestic after the name, but not these poor ferrets.
 
Maybe I am over-reacting, but all I could think of was that some uninformed
person who had a ferret might head to the zoo and see this.  Well if for
some reason they needed to "remove" their ferret from their home, they
would not look for a shelter, but think that they could just release it
into the woods and it would be fine.  I mean the zoo said ferrets lived in
woods and fields.  The image of my Ian starving in the woods comes to mind
and haunts me.
 
I am planning on sending a letter to the zoo asking them to correct the sign
for the ferrets and I ask that others do the same.  Maybe this is a little
nit-picky thing, but I think about the people in CA who have been fighting
to get people to understand that ferrets are not wild, and here we are in
Wisconsin (where are ferrets can live in freedom) and we are helping to
perpetuate the myths that enslave CA.  It might be of use to those in CA to
have a major zoo in the country make changes about the information that they
disseminate about ferrets.  The CA Government needs to have as few legs to
stand on as possible!
 
The address for the Zoo is:
 
Milwaukee County Zoological Gardens
10001 W BlueMound Rd.
Milwaukee, WI 53226
 
Thanks,
Katie, Ian and Cloud in the memory of One-Eyed George
--
Katie [log in to unmask]
Technology Information Coordinator/Lecturer
 
Carroll College
100 N. East Ave.
Waukesha, WI  53186
Phone:  (414) 524-7682
Fax:  (414) 524-7139
************************************************************************
************************************************************************
 
                  "Now we start to get into the 80's.
                   Dangerous, dangerous ground..."
 
                                -John Taylor, Duran Duran
                                 MTV Unplugged, December 1993
 
   [For George (April 1995 - June 21, 1996).  He was a ferret for all
   times.  And would have loved the 80's.  Keep on dancing my little
   one...be it to Duran or Garth or the choir of angels from whom
   you just stole those bells ;-D.  Ian and I will see you soon.
 
   I promise to always check the dishwasher before starting a load...]
[Posted in FML issue 1646]