I'm writing this with regard to the posts asking where the "bad press" about
MF originates.  Now please don't flame me because I am only repeating what I
was told a few years ago by my uncle.  At the time, he was Chairman of the
Anti-Vivisection Society here in the US and sat on the board of the
international version of the society.  (He is now deceased.) MF sellls the
vast majority of the ferrets they breed for medical research because ferts
can catch the human cold and a couple other things.  They also sell them to
the fur industry for "fitch" coats.  And they sell them to pet stores.  They
are striving for genetic uniformity for the medical research community's
convenience.  This has meant alot of messing with their DNA through
in-breeding and other practices.  This alone greatly increases the risk of a
fert developing cancer or other immune system-related problems.  In addition
to this, they spay/neuter and de-scent the kits at the age of 4 weeks.  This
results in several of the kit's systems not developing completely -
reproductive system (obviously), but also urinary system and immune system
as well.  The normal life expectancy of a fert is 7-10 years.  A MF fert's
life expectancy is 4-6!  Now of course there are exceptions to every rule
and some MF ferts are living longer than that due mainly to luck and
exceptional care, I suspect.  I know some of you will disagree with this for
whatever reason, but as I said, this was told to me by a man who spent over
60 of his 88 years heavily involved in animal rights.
 
Libby Cave
[Posted in FML issue 2101]