Okay, new we all recently have heard about THREE ways that many state
laws need revamping or updating:
 
*****1.  age at shipment and sale*****
(due to needing to bring ferrets up to the 8 or more weeks found for pup
and kittens in most states)
 
*****2.  punishment when animal abuse happens due to a store*****
(due to our all recently learning that at least one set of state laws
don't really have ways to do this)
 
*****3.  animal hoarding*****
(because only one state, IL, has a direct law on this topic)
 
I think that these THREE (3!) vastly important things point out how very,
very important it is for folks to get to Alicia's lecture on how to
successfully improve state laws at the IFC Forum at the Falls!  Go!
Learn how to do this!  Teach us all!  Teach me!  (LOL, yes, I have made
some state improvements here through the years and, yes, Alicia and I
talked a lot through her effort, but I'd sure like to learn much more so
that i can work sometime in the future for improvements on this scale,
but it doesn't look like some extremely serious family needs will let me
attend the Forum.)
 
 ---------
 
Seven is improving in her behavior toward the other ferrets ever since
she is having responsibility for warp each night.
 
 ---------
 
The internet ether ate a note of mine.  Happens.  here's basically what
i said: I know that some show and club groups are starting to take
seriously that fancies can bring along health problems -- and that
increasing the percentage of such individuals in the breeding population
causes a dangerous upward spiral in health problems -- and are trying to
find ways to address and discourage this practise.
 
and
 
Always ask for health and longevity records for a line and check them.
Granted, the farms can't provide these records but anyone else can, and
should.  It would increase buying from private breeders and in the long
run lead to the breeders doing a better and safer job, while discouraging
those who have bad lines that need culling from the breeding population.
You should expect typical longevities of late 7 to middle 8 at least.  We
get that here usually for ferrets which are rescues that mostly came as
kits with abuse backgrounds and health problems, most of them having been
through farm, maybe distributor, store, and abusive home(s) first.  If we
get that typical life span with this lot then you should see it or better
with most of any group that supposedly has had every advantage.  I sure
would not want to see a typical age of death below 7 for most of any
breeder's stock.
 
For health info:
http://geocities.com/sukieslist (links)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list
[Posted in FML issue 3817]