Siani,
 
I would like to suggest that you include a statistical comparison in your
article concerning the number of children attacked by dogs each year vs.
the number of children attacked by ferrets.  I think that would really put
things in perspective.  Be sure to normalize the numbers to account for the
fact that there are so many more pet dogs than pet ferrets, i.e. report the
number of dog-child attacks per million dogs, vs the number of ferret-child
attacks per million ferrets.
 
I calculated this out about 4 years ago and posted it to the FML.  I used
statistics compiled by someone else who used statistics from the American
Journal of Veterinary Medicine (I think it was them), and I determined that
you were 200 times more likely to be attacked by the average strange dog
than by the average strange ferret.
 
If you would like, email me and I will try to find the exact references for
you.  You will probably want to recalculate based on more recent stats.
 
Personally, I would also love to see a comprehensive survey of the facts
surrounding each of the reported child maulings, the actual police report,
the home environment, any previous or following reports of child or pet
abuse, etc.  The media jumps on these stories minutes after child's parents
start screaming "ferret attack", but never bother to actually follow up and
determine the facts for themselves.  First off, I don't think that there
have been that many attacks, and secondly, I don't believe that any of them
are simply due to the vicious nature of ferrets.  I believe, like most of
the horrible stories on the news, that its not that ferret-baby attacks are
common, but that we all hear, with much sensationalism and hand waving,
about EVERY SINGLE ONE precisely because they are rare.  "Dog Attacks
Child" or "Neglected Child Injured" are not nearly as interesting headlines
as "Ferret Attacks Child".
 
Use the Bob Church example (although you might want to avoid the bad puns),
list the facts, site your references, and use science not hearsay.  Its
easy for the media to stand up and say "ferrets are bad" and its just as
easy for us to say "No they aren't," but none of it means anything until
someone has some actual evidence to report.
 
Some good hard facts could go a long way to relieving all this anti-ferret
hysteria.
 
Good luck with the article
 
Norris
Mom to Gunther and Ozzie and the now departed, and much missed, Nico
 
P.S.  In the interest of facts, is it really true that ferrets use their
mouths for exploring more than dogs?  I don't know either way, but I figure
there are some experts in FML-land that might know for sure.
[Posted in FML issue 2736]