Michigan Dept. of Health can rant about the horrors of Rabies all they
want; it doesn't invalidate these facts:
 
1) No ferret has ever been recorded as having passed Rabies to any other
animal, human or ferret or otherwise.
 
2) The current vaccine approved by the USDA has a better track record than
the ones for dogs or cats.
 
3) Because a ferret's near-sightedness is so extreme that they can't dodge
an oncoming car, they are universally indoor or caged pets unless out under
direct supervision.  This alone gives them strong protection from rabies.
 
4) Ferrets have not been tested for the "bat strain" of rabies, to determine
how long they might be able to pass the virus in the saliva (shed period).
NEITHER HAVE CATS OR DOGS.
 
5) Kodo didn't bite.  An elderly gentleman wacked the back of his hand on
Kodo's upper fang while his jaw was completely closed.  Kodo wasn't violent
at all.
 
6) Dog and cat bite cases are always evaluated on a case-by-case basis and
if vaccinated, undergo a 10day quarantine with the idea that *if* they get
sick, there'll be lots of time to inject the human with protection.  The
common strains of Rabies that cats, dogs and ferrets have been tested for
have shown that ferrets succumb to the disease *very* rapidly, faster than
anything else ever tested, providing plenty of warning.
 
7) Based on all THAT, the only reason for pureeing the brains of hundreds of
pet ferrets is pure, simple discrimination and a lingering hatred of them in
gov't circles from the dark days when they were illegal.
 
Government discrimination using bad science is intolerable in any area -
Kodo's case has become the Waco or Ruby Ridge of the fight against
out-of-control petty bureaucrats.
 
Jim March,
fighting the ban in California.
 
CC:     BC-Times
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[Posted in FML issue 1974]