>From:    Ferret Rescue of Tidewater <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: friday the 13th;MF
>As far as Marshall Farms goes, I have to disagree with Mr. Killian.  I don't
>believe that telling the harsh truths about MF is slander.
 
Half of the junk I hear is NOT true.  One of the very best friends ferrets
have ever had - Dr. Judi Bell - was run out of her job by people reacting to
these vicious lies.  I do NOT support many of the practices of Marshall
Farms but ranting at the one person working to change their policies
destroyed years of hard work.  She had done much to improve the lot of the
ferrets and would have achieved much more but for the very vicious attacks
on her.  Based on the reactions to her speeh at the AFA sponsored Small
animal veterinary conference the other week, the veterinarians would agree
that we as a community owe Dr. Judi Bell a huge thank you and an even bigger
apology.
 
>If MF bred ferrets ONLY for laboratory testing, it wouldn't matter if
>they had a closed breeding colony, it would be preferred.
 
Mis-information.  Lab testing does NOT want genetic matching all that much.
There colony is no more closed than any other breeding operation in that
with their large number of ferrets they have wider genetic pools to choose
from.  We've had scientists tell us this but many refuse to listen.  If you
track the growing diversity in the apperance of Marshall Ferrets over the
past ten years you could see this for yourself.  Just look at them.  MF now
has DEWs, Pandas, Badgers, Chocolates, Sables, Blacks, Champagnes, albinoes.
They used to have just albinoes, sables and chocolates.
 
>Why is the longevity dropping?
 
Its not - ferrets are living longer by most accounts.  Better veterinary
care as more vets learn the idiosyncracies of ferrets.  Better understanding
of the nutritional needs.  Yes studies HAVE been done.  Dr. Tom Willard did
much research during the design of Totally Ferret.  Marshall Farms did much
research in the development of their food - manufactured by Bil Jac but
designed by folks at Marshall's.  I don't know much about 8in1s process as I
don't have contacts there (yet).
 
>If closed colony breeding is not a problem, why is it now in certain
>large breeds of dogs so many diseases prevelant when they weren't before??
 
Dogs are not bred on a large ranch.  Dog breeders are much more like the
hobby breeders - several of whom are in on spreading the lies about MF.  The
same problems showing up in dogs and cats are showing up in ferrets.  Hobby
breeders that emphasize too much selling their kits and breeding way too
many jills are the problem.  Improper care seems to be associated with that.
Too many litters so that they aren't properly cared for are a problem and
mastitis is one result of not keeping nursing jills clean enough.  I hear
about this from the hobby breeders not Marshall's.  Overly short faced
ferrets that have malformed teeth and jaws is a problem I see and hear about
from hobby breeders not from Marshall's.  I would also be willing to bet
that Marshall's "dirty rusty" cages fare well compared to some of the
elitist ferret shelters.  Some shelters are immaculate and immpecable.  Some
are not.
 
>And what about the British Monarchy
 
Think you stretched a wee bit far here.
 
>Just because the evidence hasn't been collected does not mean its not there.
 
This sounds very much like the arguments we are fighting put forward by
agencies such as California Fish and Game.  Think about their arguments on
rabies.
 
>Do that and make sure that the animals are exactly what are
>needed to continue to discover and protect our pets
 
What is needed for labs trying to protect our pets, is ferrets just like our
pets.  Exactly what MF supplies.  They are not "cloning" ferrets.  They are
breeding them.  Research comes in three forms.  Some wants similar genetics.
Some wants dis-similar genetics.  Some doesn't care.  Testing "reactions" to
agents such as vaccines would want the diversity to more closely match the
population being represented by the sample.  Testing variations in reactions
to differing environments sometimes might want similarity of genetics but I
have a hard time recalling an example that uses ferrets.
 
Close in-breeding in most species tends to eventually reduce reproduction.
MF is in the business of reproducing ferrets.  They will not destroy their
company by producing overly in-bred animals that can not reproduce.  That
seems to be the problem of hobby breeders, which is why some of us import
geographically remote ferrets.
 
Line-breeding or in-breeding can be used as a positive tool in weeding out
bad traits as well as having accidents where bad traits pop-up.  A real good
understanding of genetics is required to practice this.  I know many ferret,
dog and cat breeders.  Some have this knowledge.  Many do not.  It isn't
necessarily a bad thing.  All livestock has been somewhat line-bred to
create the domestic animal in the first place or to introduce new breeds.
Understand it before you attack it.
 
>I see 75-100 ferrets a year ranging in ages from 6 weeks to 8 years old
>come through the rescue and it seems to me that the MF ferrets are more
>likely to have adrenals, insulinoma and lymphosarcoma.
 
I saw more ferrets than that on Saturday.  I know of much larger numbers of
ferrets in shelters with out a political agenda that when the proportions of
ferret breeders is balanced out have a similar rate of problems from all
sources.  At least two other shelters that I hear from are in tidewater
Virginia.  I also have seen the "fake" Marshall farms ferrets in that area.
Some other cheesy ranch or breeder apparently fakes the "2-dot" tattoos.  If
you really know Marshall ferrets you see these and just know they aren't
from Marshall's.  The couple I've seen weren't particularly healthy.
 
I "compete" with MF since I too breed ferrets.  I have every reason to be
biased against them.  I do not like much of what they do - but I will not
stand by and watch a witch hunt (not an aspersion on Wiccans - honestly
"some of my best friends" are Wiccans) - but there is no better way to
describe what is going on.  We as ferret folks need to work on helping
ferrets.  Spreading un-truths that were originally from a group mad at MF
for supporting ferret owners by helping sponsor a show from a rival group is
hurting ferrets.  We are a laughing stock outside of our own little world
because of this suicidal destructive behavior.
 
   bill killian
[Posted in FML issue 1695]