>From:    [log in to unmask]
>Subject: The True Animal Hero
 
Karen Yaremkovich will be missed by many of us who have met her over the
years.  We will especially miss her this fall at the GCFA show where she
was slated to judge.
 
If anyone is in contact with the people who have her ferrets.  We will
gladly take back the ferrets she got from us - a pair of Swedes.  And
other ferrets if it will help.
 
>From:    Kim Sharp <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: New Ferret Shelter in Blacksburg, VA
 
We aren't exactly in your area - way up the other end of the Great Valley
of Virginia but let us know if we can help out from up here.
 
>From:    JudithMoon <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: My breeders
>Manipulates jills....hmmm.  Yes, I believe I do.  Unlike some of the other
>breeders who just cannot seem to get out of a rut, I do try new things.
 
You seem to contradict yourself.  You claim to do things the natural way
but then do not.  You seem to have no idea what others do but still
belittle them.
 
>And as for an occasional extra litter that to has no medical reason not to.
 
That is your opinion.  It is not shared by many other than the ranches.
 
>Now as for a genetic defect being passed on.  Let's see....I can follow
>the lead of some of the "big names" in ferret breeding and just give up
>ever trying to produce a healthy panda.
 
We have not "given up" but those that have are those that actually
understand that Waardenburg genes in and of themselves are a defect.  You
can not separate the deafness from the pattern.  They are caused by the
same thing.  Is it giving up to no longer flap your arms because you
understand that aerodynamically a human can not fly?  Or is it just
sensible?
 
There are several other breeders including "big names" that continue to
breed Waardenburg ferrets.  So many for so long that much if not most of
the genetic stock is polluted with these defective genes, all in the name
of beauty that is only in the coat.  There are other defects that you seem
to be aware of associated with Waardenburg.
 
Learn about genetics, that is what it takes to understand exactly what a
panda ferret is.
 
>I understand that many of the great thinkers and doers in this world have
>had to put up with this same kind of bull so I will have good company in
>my quest to improve the panda.
 
Your quest is more like the Flat Earth Society than like Galileo.  Being
wrong may be different but it is not necessarily better.  You are at odds
with a lot of other breeders who have little in common; you are not at
odds with a monolithic front.  Tilting at windmills is fine but you are
responsible for the ferrets you produce.  You are dragging these other
lives along with you.
 
>I would not want to offend you with a hearing and healthy panda.
 
Again understand genetics and you would know that some pandas will not be
deaf.  Some will.  It is perhaps questionable to breed ANY Waardenburg
ferrets.  The gene seems consistent among numerous species; there are two
or three types in humans.  Only the not universally accepted type three is
not associated with deafness.
 
>The only mistake I made this year was to follow some advice given by one
>of the "big names" and thereby lost nearly one whole season of breeding.
 
Elsewhere you have mentioned us by name.  Do not defame us for your
mistakes.  We have nothing to do with your failures.
 
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
http://www.zenferret.com
[Posted in FML issue 3110]