Open E-mail to the ferret FML (an internet resource for the exchange of
information among ferret enthusiasts) and three e-mail addresses for
Britannica Online, one of which should hopefully get to the correct revision
authorities:
 
The primary reason I took your 7-day free testing was to confirm a report
on several errors reguarding the listing of Mustela putorious furo, known
as the common domesticated ferret.
 
Quote from URL
http://www.eb.com:195/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/207/27.html&bold=on&sw=ferret&D
Base=Articles&hits=10&context=all&ParagraphType=1&indexremove=off#first_hit
 
"The animals subsist on a diet of milk and meat that is similar to that
given the domestic cat."
 
_A Practical Guide to Ferret Care_ by Deborah Jeans, p. 39:
"Do not give your ferret any of the following:
...
dairy products (They will cause diarrhea.)
..."
 
If you wish for direct expert testimony, I can give you the e-mail and
street address of a number of recognized leaders in the field of ferret
care:
Pam T. Grant (tours the U.S. promoting proper ferret care and helps set up
ferret shelters)
Dr. Susan A. Brown (Nationally recognized expert in vetrinary ferret care)
Bill Gruber (maintains the Ferret Mailing List on the internet for the
last seven years, constantly covers this and simular issues, can provide a
list of a number of vetrinarian testimony on the subject, all with the
same answer: NO MILK FOR FERRETS!
 
Quote from URL
http://www.eb.com:195/cgi-bin/g?keywords=ferret&DBase=Dictionary&hits=10&c
ontext=all
 fer.ret n [ME furet, ferret, fr. MF furet, fr. (assumed) VL furittus,
lit., little thief, dim. of L fur thief--more at furtive]
(14c) 1: a ***partially domesticated*** usu. albino European polecat that
is sometimes classed as a separate species (Mustela furo) 2: an active and
persistent searcher -- fer.rety adj
 
My concern is with the words 'partially domesticated'.  We can provide ample
research and testimony of how ferrets are quite 'fully domesticated', as
your Encyclopedia entry even admits: "Domesticated ferrets have become so
dependent upon humans that they cannot survive without care and if lost
often die within a few days."
 
If that isn't 'fully domesticated', I'm not quite sure what qualifies in
your book.  But I'm sure that my ferret loving friends and I can provide a
most excellent body of evidence reguarding the 'full domestication' of
ferrets.
 
Please allow my friends and I to present evidence for the correction of your
entries into your reference materials.  It is extreemly important as you are
highly reguarded as being accurate and authoritative.
 
Thank you for taking the time to consider the veracity of your material in
this specific subject of extreemly personal interest.
 
Andy Smith
[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1618]