[Posted in 3 pieces -- combined into one. BIG]
 
>From:    Kylie Preisig <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Imports to Australia; Queensland contact
>Well, the biggest issue facing ferret keeping in Australia at the moment
>other than the Queensland ban) is the Quarantine Service review of the
>importation of ferrets.  As there is now an effective vaccine for rabies
>and a quarantine period the ban of ferrets has come up for consideration.
 
I touched on the subject in FML issue 2566.  I begged people to respond and
got nothing!  Maybe as I just touched on it, nobody thouht twice about it.
In that post I said:
>  "I am begging all of you to please view the following web site, go to
>  the bottom and send Warren Vant a very positive comment (even tho it
>  says to send them in by December 8, 1998).  The page can be accessed at:
>  http://www.dpie.gov.au/aqis/homepage/imadvice/a98-081.html "
 
I am not sure if anybody even looked at the site.
 
>My first reaction to that, was that it was a great idea.  It would mean
>people like my friend Hank who has ferrets in Indonesia may be able to
>bring them back into the country, and other people who would like to
>immigrate can bring all their pets.
 
Being a breeder in the US, knowing that ferrets have not been imported
into Australia since the 1920's, and that Aussies (no offense, guys) don't
really keep pedigrees on the ferrets they breed - I would lean towards
importation.  It would be a good thing for the ferret blood in Australia.
It would also be wonderful for those of us that wish to live in Australia,
but have been holding off moving since we are involved with an animal that
we adore and can't take with us.  And let me not forget the people that
do want to RETURN to Australia with their ferrets and cannot.  Hank is an
unfortunate example of that.  He is torn between a country he loves and a
group of fur balls he can't bear to live without!  (BTW - the ferrets Hank
has have been microchipped and given rabies vaccines (a requirement of
cats & dogs leaving the country & wishing to return at a later date) and
were born in Australia).
 
>But other people from the WA Ferret and Ferreting society pointed out
>that there are some other nasty diseases such as ECE and Adrenal disease
>which the USA has but Australia does not, and it would be good for our
>ferrets if we could keep these diseases out.  This was the official
>response that the club returned to the Quarantine Service.
 
Well, it has been reported to me from several different sources that - yes -
adrenal does in fact happen in Australia.  It is rare, but it does happen.
 
In Bob Church's Adrenal posts in early 1998 he states:
 
>   "... some breeders have inbred their ferrets so much that a genetic
>   mistake has become visible.  This looks good on paper, but I don't buy
>   it for many reasons, especially two major ones.  First, look around
>   you; you see albinos, sables, silvers, dark eyed whites, and so forth.
>   Body sizes are small to large, whippet, standard and bulldog.  The
>   amount of variation within the USA ferret-line suggests inbreeding is
>   not a problem." "I also think the idea is flawed simply because the
>   ferrets in the USA came from Great Britain and Europe, precisely where
>   the ferrets in New Zealand and Australia came from.  Those populations
>   tend to follow the basic European lead in lack of adrenal disease.
>   Remember, we are assuming accounts of rare adrenal disease are factual,
>   and without contrary evidence such assumptions are valid."
 
So if it isn't genetic (and we know that it isn't a virus or something one
ferret can "catch" from another) then what is it?  Bob Churh continues his
thoughts on that:
 
>   "Why is human cancer so difficult to control?  Because, in many cancers
>   you don't get cancer unless you have the predisposition AND are exposed
>   to an environmental stimuli.  That is why some smokers get lung cancer
>   and others merely die from emphysema or heart disease.  Smoking is the
>   environmental component, but some studies have shown that a genetic
>   component is present as well." "What if the environmental component (if
>   indeed this is the case) was something that was common in the
>   USA/Canada, but rare in Europe, Australia and New Zealand?"
 
So what kind of factors?  Bob again comments on that:
 
>   "Food: The USA/Canada primarily feed dry kibbled foods; while such foods
>   are being accepted in other countries, pullets, carcass parts and raw
>   meat products are still commonly given.  Think about this; as far as I
>   can reconstruct, ferrets in the USA had a low incidence of *reported*
>   adrenal disease until the late 1970's.  Now, this might be coincident
>   with better veterinarian diagnoses, more treatment of ill ferrets, or
>   the widespread introduction of dry kibbled foods, which took place at
>   about the same time.  A possible problems are a shift from foods having
>   lots of fiber (fur) and roughage to eating something that comes out like
>   paste." "Here we generally feed ad libitum; that is, we leave food in a
>   dish and the dish with the ferrets at all times.  This is in part
>   because someone once erroneously equated a high metabolic rate and food
>   requirements to mean they have to eat all the time.  This is not only
>   untrue in healthy ferrets, but it would be impossible to do in the
>   wild." "Adrenal disease really didn't start making headway in the
>   Americas until after kibble became a popular food.  It is quite possible
>   that the lack of a micro nutrient could be causing a physiological
>   problem resulting in the disease."
>
>   "In the USA/Canada, ferrets are house pets and are rarely taken into the
>   out-of-doors.  Most other places house ferrets outside and they are
>   rarely taken indoors." "In the USA/Canada, indoor ferrets are constantly
>   exposed to unnatural light periods." "This isn't a problem for ferrets
>   housed outside."
>
>   "Inactivity is mostly due to boredom rather than small cages.  I've
>   included boredom because all systems of the ferret are affected,
>   including the endocrine system.  Bored animals and people have been
>   shown to have higher disease and death rates."
>
>   "Paramount among these factors are two which I will discuss; shelter
>   conditions and neutering." "When I discuss shelter conditions in the
>   USA, I am not discussing filth nor inadequate conditions . . .  " "I'm
>   thinking of something else; specifically, stress." "I have three fairly
>   good papers describing stress-related problems in ranched mink, who show
>   such symptoms as hyper-aggression, hair loss, diarrhea, extreme apathy,
>   neurotic behaviors and self-mutilation." "The other issue is early
>   neutering." "The ferret reaches 90-95% of its growth in the first six
>   months.  By the end of the first year, its bones have stopped growing
>   and are fusing together.  This is before or at the onset of the first
>   possible reproductive cycle.  I define early neutering as neutering
>   before the growth cycle is complete." "Bad stress is of the type that
>   is not quickly resolved, like school or work stress, and is thought to
>   be a factor in human heart disease."
 
Lastly Bob Church wonders:
 
>   "Could this help explain 1) why adrenal disease is so common in the New
>   World; 2) why, with the introduction of USA practices, adrenal disease
>   seems to have been lately increasing in Britain; 3) why the disease
>   appears to be common in animals exposed--in mass--to similar
>   environments, such as in shelters or mass groups in pet stores; and 4)
>   why the disease responds poorly to non-surgical treatment (because even
>   with the treatment, the ferret is *still* exposed to the triggering
>   factor)?"
 
Now, I don't know about any of you, but this makes sense to me.
 
As far as ECE, Bob Church states (from adrenal posts):
 
>   "A superb paper [by Dr. James Fox] and one that left me wondering out
>   loud if some of the problems we are recently having with recurrent bowel
>   inflammatory disease, ECE and the like might be tied to expecting our
>   little fursharks to push their intestinal toxins out the back using
>   paste rather than fur and fiber.  It is only a recent discovery that
>   human bowel cancers are tied to fiber content."
 
We all know ECE is some sort of virus.  Many of us also suspect that ECE is
being diagnosed when it isn't even ECE - maybe "shelter shock" as one put
it a few days ago on this list.  Ferrets have touchy tummies and the
slightest change - food, cagemates, new smells, moving, new homes, etc -
can cause "stress poop" that is green.  Some ferrets can get a "cold" and
show the same signs - not eating, green poops, not drinking, etc.  - and
after a little TLC and force feeding/watering they are back to normal.  To
me that is not ECE.  All of these things are to be watched, but it never
goes to the ECE plateau that many have seen - dehydration, considerable
weightloss, runny green poops, death, etc.  ECE lasts for months.
 
Now, I have taken in rescue ferrets from day one (even tho we were never
really officially a shelter until now) and have gotten breeding stock
from many different places.  In all of the time I have been involved with
ferrets we have never had ECE - not even during the big outbreaks in our
area.  Nor have we ever had any problems with adrenal (yet - knock on
wood).  I am inclined to say that both have something to do with
environment.  It is common sense that a streesed animal will have a lower
immune system (as is true in people) and therefore ECE is a possibility
to them.
 
Now as far as Aussie ferrets are concerned . . . do they get green stress
poopies?  Maybe - maybe not.  Maybe the feeding of more raw meat, keeping
them outside (I do know of several that house indoors also & let theirs out
as well), among others, is keeping their lives less stressful then the
ferrets in the US.  But ECE should be a concern and researched.  It seems
that the most ECE problems in ferrets are seen in shelters & from pet
stores.  Some cases have been seen in private breeders and it has been
thought (dare I say proven?) to have been spread at ferret shows and
events.  What do these all have in common?  Stress.  Of course there is a
lot more technical more stuff on ECE and Adrenal that others on the list
can help with as well as lots of articles on the issues at hand that are
searchable on the web.
 
Also, there can be ferret imports into Australia with restrictions.  No US
ferrets - only New Zealand or European ferrets.  Just because they are
talking about imports does it mean they will freely be allowed in from
every place on the planet and with no quarantine time.  Heck - last I heard
Australia just got lenient in dog and cat quarantine cutting the time back
from 1 year to 6 months and finally now down to three (if all conditions
are right).  So I don't think they are just opening up the flood gates.
 
So - all you 18+ Aussies - lets hear what you think!  How about the Germans
and Europeans?  And any other non-US/Canadian list members - Kylie wants to
talk about this - so lets talk!
 
Amy Flemming
[log in to unmask]
Flemming Farms/Weasel Watchers Ferret Rescue - Michigan, USA
Breeding for Quality Ferrets/Helping Needy Weasels
American, Australian, German, and New Zealand bloodlines
Come see us at http://www.geocities.com/heartland/ranch/9521
 
"For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism"
 
[Moderator's note: Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to tell where
most subscribers reside.  Just by country codes in email addresses I
count subscribers from 24 different countries, but there are plenty of
people with "generic" (e.g. .com) addresses who live all over the world.
No way to tell, unfortunately.  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 2591]