Kathy, if you feel the conditions at your breeding facility are OK,
then why don't you allow people to visit the actual facility? While
I have never personally tried to visit, I have been told by others
who have that you do not allow people to visit the actual breeding
facility, which is located somewhere other than your home. When people
come to get a ferret, they come to your home, where you do house some,
but not most of the ferrets.

If you had an open door policy and allowed people to visit the place
where the majority of the ferrets are kept, then you might not have the
problems with what you claim are false reports. People could visit and
draw their own conclusions about your facility.

And, whether or not you are required to have a license, the USDA
Inspector's report is pretty gruesome. I can't imagine why the USDA
Inspector would want to falsify information about you, so I tend to
place more credibility on the report than on what you claim, until
such time as I might visit your facility and see with my own eyes the
conditions where the ferrets are kept. I only live in VA, so I would
be happy to drive down for a visit sometime, and report back to the
FML what I observed.

Other ferret farms like Marshalls and Path Valley have not had the
problems with "false" USDA Inspector reports like you claim to have -
and they are licensed facilities. They are subject to regular
inspections, including unannounced inspections. They are bigger
operations than I believe you are, but they can keep food and water
on all cages. And, I can't imagine how someone could mistake a pile
of leaves for a pile of dead ferrets.

Danee DeVore
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit:
<http://www.ferretadv.com>
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[Posted in FML 6809]