There is someone who has been asking people for money to transport a sick
ferret on a range of lists.
 
I am not able to assess the validity of the request except to address the
health aspects (which others are also doing, here and elsewhere).
 
It was just such transports that began the epizooic of that mutant strain
of coccidia (the one that was somewhat hard to get but fatal virtually
always when contracted -- until the cause was finally found and a
targeted medical approach designed by Bruce Williams in which not only
ill animals but also exposed ones were treated).  The strain first began
on Long Island and was moved from there into discrete portions of NE and
mid-Atlantic U.S.
 
One of the first and most effective things done was to get people in the
areas with the illness to stop bringing ferrets in and out.  Luckily,
folks did respond rapidly by closing their own areas to transports.  The
result of the combination was that the strain of coccidia appears to have
died off.  It's an excellent example of the importance of regional
quarantines.
 
ECE is another excellent example of how people inadvertently spread
illnesses.  Ditto ADV, and I think that most of us have heard of Canine
Distemper being spread around this way.
 
Heck, an animal transport is at the root of one of the most extensive
rabies spreads in the U.S. in recent decades.  Some raccoon hunters
(Virginia?  West Virginia?) were upset by a reduction in the raccoon
population and brought up animals from an area in Florida where rabies
was a problem.  Bango!  Areas which had had very little terrestrial
rabies in a very long time suddenly had it fanning out through them as
it spread over the years.
 
BTW, did you read how West Nile is spreading rapidly, including into the
Caribbean now?  There are something like 180 species of birds known to
have it now.  Luckily for the ones which are not endangered the initial
die-off doesn't seem to result in long-term population decreases.  For
those who are endangered the initial exposures could cause extinctions.
It's seen in a large range of mammals, too, and has even been found in
alligators which is a bit of puzzle since mosquitoes can't break their
skin as far as the was known.  Maybe mosquitos sometimes go for mucus
membranes around eyes or orifices in them.  Maybe they are susceptible
enough to have a different route of infection.  Who know?  It is now
thought that birds brought in from infected areas (legally or illegally)
likely began this.  It's thought to be here to stay.  Hawaii has imposed
special new bird transport restrictions because it has 30% of the
nation's endangered birds.
 
Transporting ill animals is a bad thing...
[Posted in FML issue 4106]