Hi guys-
 
In the Oct 2001 issue of Outside Magazine is an excerpt from author Peter
Stark's new book entitled "Last Breath: Cautionary Tales from the Limits
of Human Endurance".
 
A portion of this excerpt talks about predatory animals and in one
paragraph is states and I quote "that the ferocious grizzly bear ranks
about the same a mustelids (weasels, badgers, skunks and the like) , which
kill an average of four humans a year, primarily pet ferrets attacking
unattended babies"."
 
For anyone interested in contacting the magazine and speaking up on this
issue, here's the magazine's mailing address:
 
Outside Magazine
                   400 Market Street
                   Santa Fe, New Mexico
                   87501
 
Or they receive e-mails at: [log in to unmask]
 
I'm going to do both.  The book the information is excerpted from is
written by one of the magazine's journalists, Peter Stark, so it's safe
to assume he'll hear about it if we contact the magazine as ferret lovers
and insist they either provide the source of this information or retract
the statement (if these deaths occurred outside the US, they needed to
qualify that).
 
No pressure, you don't have to agree with me on this, but since ferrets
still have a tenuous grasp on being treated fairly in terms of quarantine
on bite issues (and since the California Dept.  of Fish and Game will jump
at any documented source to prove that ferrets are "wild" animals who
attack people) I think it's important for ferret advocates to politely and
courteously let this magazine know that their information is not correct
(unless they can cite the documented source that we can check and verify).
There may be some reported cases of a ferret biting a baby or small child
(more the fault of clueless parents than of the ferret) but I was unable
to find any documented case of a child's death resulting from a ferret
attack, and I don't think they exist.
 
I was unable to find the article in the online archives, otherwise would
have posted the link to the story right here.
 
Thanks all,
 
-Heather W.
Ignored by Dante, clung to by Nikita, gazed at by Dusty, chased by Beanie,
jumped on by Boomer, and snapped at by Rocky!
[Posted in FML issue 3660]