>I found a breeder who is promoting 'bobtail' kits - in fact their
>hob threw 100 kits last year and the bobtail remained true to the
>litters....my research on Waardenburg shows that the primary symptoms
>of the genetic disease are the white blotches and deafness (the hob is
>a panda) but also includes osteoarthritis, neural tube defects,
>gastrointestinal disorders, limb defects, etc.  I believe that because
>the hob is a panda color and also has the bob tail that this ferret has
>Waardenburg syndrome.
>
>This concerns me greatly.  As both a shelter and long time enthusiast, I
>hate to see these types of defects perpetuated in the breed.  What would
>you say to a person who is knowingly breeding ferrets with this
>significant genetic fault?  My research has shown that it is known to be a
>dominant trait and its horrifying to me to know that someone is breeding
>in a large enough capacity (300-500 ferrets in the facility) without fully
>understanding the consequences of indiscriminate breeding.  Comments?
 
First you need to be certain that this hob actually has the syndrome.  If
he does, you need to point out, politely, to the breeder the problems with
this syndrome, emphasizing the fact that she is producing a large number
of ferrets that could have painful problems.  If she cares about her kits,
that should do it.  If not, not much that you are going to say will make
a difference.
 
Be sure the hob has it, however.  If he has thrown that many kits, and
none of them are showing problems, perhaps he has a different mutation
altogether.
 
Dr. Ruth
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Save lives - spay or neuter your pet.
[Posted in FML issue 3669]