Domestic Ferret Info. Release 6/1/95
From Gary Holowicki, [log in to unmask]
 
Here's a "legal Document" I just got in, The statement of the animal control
officer in the CBS domestic ferret slam of 5/31/95, "under penalty of
perjury of the laws of the states of Nevada and California", That means
don't change it, use it wisely in calls, faxes, etc.  I'd also suggest this
is powerful "medicine" in letters to California politicians to reverse the
domestic ferret ban out there!  (At the bottom of this letter is a form
suggested to address the Ca. Senators on the Cal. ferret issue.)
 
The CBS numbers are courtesy:
 
>From:    Judi Lunn <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Ferret Bashing on CBS
I ...called CBS and got the direct numbers (regular and fax) for The
Morning Show.  Before I go on, the numbers are as follows: Phone:
212-975-2824, and Fax: 212-975-2115..  Their mailing address is: The
Morning Show, CBS Television, 524 W.  57th Street, New York NY 10019.
 
-------
Declarations of Lee Wittek
Animal Control Officer, Carson City, Nevada
 
    I, Lee Wittek, am employed as an Animals Control Officer by Carson
City, Nevada, and have been so employed for the last fifteen years.
    I have read the letter written by Christine Ostrom regarding the
injuries sustained by her granddaughter, Michelle Bowers in September 1985.
I feel that the letter does not give a true picture of what occurred, nor
does it appropriately place the responsibility for the injury to the child.
    The quote, "Before anyone responded to her cries of total agony, the
ferrets gnawed Michelle's nose, lips and most of her face completely off."
Brushes over the fact that the reason it took so long to respond to her
cries of total agony is that apparently neither of her parents were
consciously present in the home at the time their child was injured.  As I
recollect, the rumor in the community was that her mother was down at the
local bar with her girlfriends (it was also rumored they were have some
trouble at home), and the father was either not present or was asleep or
unconscious.  Although the father denied it when questioned, there were
indications that the father was drinking and had fallen asleep or passed
out.  One has to question why, if he was only asleep as he claimed, he did
not wake when his child would have been crying loudly for an extended period
of time.  This did not happen in the middle of the night, and one would
think any normal parent would have responded to their child in plenty of
time to prevent any serious injury from occurring.
    There is also the serious question of just how the ferret gained access
to the baby up in her crib unless provided with a ladder of some form, such
as a lattice work of wire or cloth they could climb up, or were placed in
the crib by someone.
    I remember at the time there was a lot of hysteria by the anti-ferret
forces and they went literally world wide looking for evidence that ferret
were a danger to children, and they came up with very little actual evident
to support their position.  Contrary to their assertions, ferrets are
"killer weasels on the loose", which is why they had to go literally world
wide to come up with any examples in an attempt to demonstrate their point.
    The anti-ferret forces want to depict the ferret as a Tasmanian Devil
that will devour everything in sight, and that is just not true.  This
depiction of the animal and its ferocity is grossly overstated.
    From my own experience, I know that ferrets are significantly less
dangerous to children than are dogs.
    I will state categorically that my own knowledge of ferret behavio r
would indicate that there would have to be a great deal of gross parental
irresponsibility for any child to be seriously injured by a ferret.
    I declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the states of Nevada
and California that the forgoing is true and correct to the best of my
knowledge and that this declaration is made on April 21, 1995 at Carson
City, Nevada.
 
                                      Lee Witteck (signed)
                                 Carson City Animal Control Officer
  ----------------------------
 
The following is from CDFA1, via the FML.
 
 
 -----------------------------
 
Date:    Sat, 6 May 1995 01:36:53 -0400
From:    [log in to unmask]
Subject: Writing to the CA Senate from a
 
I want to start out by apologizing for any confusion I may have created in my
posts.  And to say.....PLEASE, you're just the type we are looking for to
have write to us.... so please do.
 
<My question:  How do I write to the CA senate and mail it to CDFA?
 
For a "formal" style letter, use the mail-to address in the body of the
letter something like this:
 
CA State Senate
Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
 
Then the "body" of the letter can be something like this:
 
Dear Senators;
 
Blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah...........
 
Sincerely,
 
Joe Blow
Resident of XX state to save my ferrets (or something like that)
 
Then, although the letter contains the address of the CA state senate please
put it in an envelope with the CDFA address on it.  Why are we doing it this
way?
We want to present an accumulated amount all at the same time.  If they get
mailed one at a time to the Senate they may (I stress may) just get put
aside, but if presented en mass so to speak they will, in our opinion, be far
more impressive.
 
Thanks again,
[log in to unmask]
PO Box 2856
Fremont, CA 94536-0856
[Posted in FML issue 1212]