WOW! What an interesting post. I didn't know about the ferret history
there. My vet said that one of his experiences w/ ferrets was w/ four
that some American children rescued as kits (I don't know what from),
but that they eventually got too wild so the family let them go. I
puzzled over this story, as you can imagine. It sounded as though they
had been rescued from the wild and then were returned to it. I thought
perhaps they were not domestic ferrets. I mever got to ask the vet more
about it -- something distracting probably happened then w/ my cat who
was in for treatment at the time.

It is certainly true that rabies still exists in Ethiopia, though
some people swear it has been eradicated. I met with the Quarantine
guy at the Ministery of Agriculture, and he confirmed that yes,
rabies is still going strong. On the other hand, in my long stay
there ('68 -'72) and my more recent visits I haven't actually heard
of a specific case.

Nonetheless, the FIRST thing we are going to do ("we" = three Ethiopian
women friends and I) after we finally buy a place (the last possibility
fell through -- another OT story, but perhaps I can FERRRET it into a
post some day a la Wolfy) is to build a 2-meter/6 ft high fence of
corrugated metal. We hope it will keep all the animals in, including
the cats, who will be outraged at the confinement, I'm sure! And of
course, it is to keep other animals out.

I am still in the US, btw -- lots of things to do before I can leave --
including preparing my house for rental and finding the best way to get
all of my animals to Ethiopia -- an expensive and arduous process. I
might hire someone to do the ferts, since the need to cae for them
between flights is s necessary and intense, and since i don't want to
spend a night, find a place thet wd let them stay w/ me -- or find a
vet -- etc etc in the various places it would be needed. I am
corresponding with an outfit called something like Animals by Air.

I'll let you all knw if they sound as though they can do the job.

Does anyone have other suggestions?

[Posted in FML 5651]