One of our local government departments has recently been spreading
(untrue) negative facts about ferrets, both generally and in regard to
"feral ferrets" in Australia (of which there are none BTW :)
 
While we don't feel we are in any danger of having ferrets banned, we
are, of course, not overly happy about the negative publicity.
 
One point they made was that "Hitchcock 1994 indicates that pet ferrets
can pose a significant risk to human babies".
 
I have a copy of the paper they are referring to ("The European Ferret,
Mustela putorius, it's public health, wildlife and agriculture
significance"), which, in my opinion, is an embarrassment to the word
research.
 
I am looking for links to official statistics on dog bites (fatalities
and injuries) in the USA and/or Australia, to try to give them some
perspective on the issue.
 
Thank you
shona
Perth, Australia
[Posted in FML issue 4669]