It has been almost a month since the USDA/APHIS has given us a voice.
And yet, we are almost stone silent. Don't get me wrong. I have seen
some great letters on the USDA/APHIS site from some of you guys. I have
spent this morning reading many of them, while I drank my tea. But I am
stunned. I hadn't checked the numbers on the USDA/APHIS site for awhile,
because a watched pot never boils. Apparently, watching doesn't matter,
because this pot is not boiling. These are the numbers as of August
30th:
Total comments (INCLUDING snail mail) - 95
Total snail mail - 18
How is it that we have 2500 members on this list, and yet we have less
than one hundred comments? And only 18 snail mails? What? I read all
the happy posts on the list about what Pokey did and how he's so cute
and it almost annoys me. Sometimes I think we're so involved in our own
little corner of the world that we wouldn't notice the rest of the world
if it went down in flames. And concerning this issue, it just might.
I read this morning how the Las Vegas shelter has 145 ferrets; 95 in
house and 50 in foster homes. My god. One hundred and forty-five
ferrets. This shelter is doing some very heavy lifting. I really don't
know how they do it. I only have to clean up after 11 ferrets, and you
should hear me cuss. I envision what it would be like in Las Vegas if
this shelter did not exist. It is not hard to imagine. You know what
the outcome would be.
Apathy kills.
I remember telling you the story of Jasper, whose cagemate died of a
blockage. His owner, an educated professional woman, let her "favorite
ferret" die of a blockage. I'm sure it was a slow and horrible death. I
don't like to think about it, but I do from time to time. I don't know
why this woman let this happen to her "favorite ferret," but she did.
She could have gone to the vet. She could, if nothing else, put this
ferret down so that it would not have suffered. She had money. She
had intelligence. But she did nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Apathy kills.
Sure, if you don't write a letter or make a comment to the USDA, probably
no ferrets will suffer or die today because of it. Don't get me wrong,
though. Ferrets will suffer and die today. Many of them. I know, no
one wants to think about it. Believe me; I don't want to think about it,
either. But they will suffer and die today, because when some of us had
the chance, we chose not to think about it.
Apathy kills, people.
Buddhists are often misunderstood. Their philosophy teaches them to
embrace suffering. It would seem that a Buddhist isn't happy unless he
is suffering. They are wrongly characterized as the "great martyrs."
The practice of zen is also misunderstood. People who practice zen make
a conscious effort to "empty their minds." Who wants an empty mind? How
boring. What good is an empty mind? But it is only when you empty your
mind that you can fill it with things other than the same old thoughts
and feelings that you are comfortable with. You open yourself up to new
ways of thought.
So, why do Buddhists do this? They do it to become more aware of
themselves, and to discover their own suffering. Discover their own
suffering? Oh, just great. Just what we need, more suffering. But it
is what we need. We can only cease suffering if we know that we ARE
suffering. It is only then that we can change it. But we are stubborn
creatures. We do not like to suffer, so we simply "don't."
I think this is what we're doing. I think I know what kind of people
ferret people are, for the most part. We are a compassionate people.
We willingly clean up crap on a daily basis. We go through great pains
and great expense to take care of our guys. And when we lose them, our
grieving is immense. I don't think our apathy takes place because we
don't care. We care, alright. The FML is filled with stories of our
grief and suffering. It is not disproportionate. These stories are our
reality. We are human. We can only take so much pain before we shut it
off. But if we constantly shut it off, we lose the ability to change
what is hurting us. It is a vicious cycle.
Apathy kills.
If you cease to think about what we're trying to change, only because
it is painful or inconvenient, the suffering of ferrets will go on. If
you think that someone else will make a comment, or send a letter in
your place, they won't. No one can sound your voice. If the USDA/APHIS
decides to let this thing die, because out of the whole world of ferret
owners, veterinarians, and shelter operators, only 95 replied - then it
will die. The ferret farms, the airlines, and the pet stores will all
continue to do what they are allowed to do, with what appears to be our
blessing.
Well, they do not have my blessing. Do not give them yours. Drop the
same old way of doing things, just for a little while, and make a comment
or send a letter. No one will do it for you. The lack of replies to the
USDA makes it pretty clear that they won't. Your voice has to come from
you. Believe me, your voice will be heard. And so will your silence.
Apathy kills.
Roary
Albuquerque, NM
blog - http://ferretphilosophy.blogspot.com/
Standards for Ferrets info:
Web -
http://docket.epa.gov/edkfed/do/EDKStaffCollectionDetailViewByID
?collectionId=APHIS-2005-0063
Snail mail -
Docket No. 04-088-1
Regulatory Analysis and Development
PPD APHIS Station 3C71
4700 River Road, Unit 118
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238
[Posted in FML issue 4986]
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