My wife and I thought Modern Ferret was the only truly legitimate ferret
magazine on the market until today.
 
We saw the Modern Ferret issue # 24 today at a Borders book store.  I was
surprised to see it there since we had not yet received our copy in the
mail.  Both covers were on the shelf.  I first was not too impressed with
the "Oops" version, thinking this was in poor taste.  But when I opened
the magazine (both cover versions have the same content) and saw the
centerfold, both my wife and I couldn't believe what we were looking at.
It was an absolutely disgusting scene.  I immediately threw the magazine
back on the rack.  We were (and still are) enraged and agreed that
something must be said about this.
 
We came home and downloaded the FML to see if anyone had already seen this
piece of crap (sorry, but right now I can't think of a better word).  Lo
and behold there is a post from Sheri and from an anonymous poster.  I say
bravo to both, especially Sheri for her detail.  She reflected exactly how
Leslie and I feel about this situation and mentioned what we had already
decided to do.  Besides all that Sheri mentioned, there is the concern that
anti-ferret people/groups/organizations will get hold of this issue, mainly
the photos, and use it to support their argument that ferrets shouldn't be
legalized.  After all, you can't take what pro-ferret people say seriously
since they think it's funny to ... (like Sheri, I will not describe the
gruesome scenes).  The California DF&G and NYC Dept. of Health will have a
field day with this one.  Thank you very much, Mary, Eric, and oh, let's
not forget their big celebrity Harry Anderson.
 
As it was mentioned in yesterday's posts, this is not about humor.  I have
a sense of humor and enjoy a pretty wide variety of jokes.  But again, this
is not about humor; it's about taste.  There are hundreds of things the
Shefferman's could have done that would have been funny.  After all, we're
talking about ferrets here.
 
And then there's the issue of them *deliberately* offending their
customers.  I don't know about you but if I went into a store and the
manager deliberately offended me "under the guise of humor" I would not
patronize that store.  And that's just what my wife and I have done here.
We canceled our subscription, requesting a refund of the subscription
balance including issue 24 (which we thankfully have not received).  But we
didn't stop there.  We also sent a letter to Borders asking them to remove
the magazine from their shelves.
 
If you found the magazine offensive, please do something about it.  If you
looked to MF for information to help you better understand and maintain
your babies, you don't have to.  There are many good and knowledgeable
people on this list as well as ferret organizations from whom you can gain
a wealth of knowledge.  I don't claim to know everything and I am not
egocentric but I am more than happy to share my experience and knowledge.
If I don't know something I will say so.  I am sure there are many other
people on this list--many knowing more than me--who would do the same.
 
Am I taking this MF #24 thing too far?  I'll say this:  I take my ferrets
seriously.  I love all twelve of them, and I will protect them with my life.
I take the welfare, legalization, promotion, and protection of the domestic
ferret seriously.  And I take the staged depiction of the brutal killing of
ferrets seriously.
 
Dennis
http://www.erols.com/ferritz
[Posted in FML issue 2780]