To Judge Michael Allphin,
 
This letter is concerning case number 011601083, involving Jen Morrison
and over 250 Utah ferrets collected by her.  This letter is to apprise
you that I was involved early on from the very first E-mail I received
that over 200 ferrets were being starved to death, had no heat or air
conditioning, and had been abducted from a shelter run by Jen Morrison.
The ferrets were going to all be killed by the end of the week.  I
personally spoke with Jen Morrison over the phone, and she told me the
same thing.
 
I called in a representative from P. E. T. A.  who came to Utah early
in the week.  It is from her that I learned that the ferrets had been put
in a heated garage that also had an air conditioner, and that Jen had
permission to care for them, and that they were not going to be killed
by the people that broke down Jens door.  It is from a kind representative
of P. E. T. A. that I learned that Jen is a collector.
 
Jen just wanted money from me.  There was no way I was giving money to a
collector.  I am just one of over 3,000 people on the Ferret Mailing List
to become involved.  I passed on what I had learned, and donated some of
my ferret art works.  Truly, I am a nobody in this.  There were many
others that spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to rescue
the ferrets from this collector.
 
There are many people who sacrificed vacations, movies, snacks, clothing.
All of this in addition to the support for America during Sept. 11th.
Your average ferret owner is NOT a millionaire.  Yet people from all over
the world pitched in.
 
The ferrets were very lucky we were able to get them out.  Jen said that
if she had to give up the cages-she would have all of the ferrets killed.
WE really did not know if we were going to be able to save any of these
little ones.
 
We had to-during the immediate after math of Sept.  11th-come up with
drivers and rented vehicles and purchase cages and carriers for all of
these poor creatures.  If you need exact information on that-please write
me, and I will put you in touch with the people who were there.  People
were enlisting.  Others were now afraid to fly or drive long distances.
We lost drivers we desperately needed and had counted on.  So others gave
up work to drive straight through for days to rescue these innocent
beings.  Many lost numerous nights of sleep trying to save the animals
from death once they arrived at the shelters.  People from all over the
world donated what they could, and prayed for the safety of these helpless
beings.
 
Many of these animals had adrenal problems, insulinomas requiring meds
that had not been given, had ear mites, or were dehydrated.  And many
were so weak muscularly that they had difficulty walking from being
confined to a small cage for years or months-depending on when the
collector got hold of her victim.
 
Thousands of dollars are still needed to care for all of these animals.
Many will never leave the shelters they are in because of their special
needs.  Yet,Jen Morrison could not even give up one of the many cages she
had, or donate even a penny.  There was not even a thank you.
 
We seriously doubt that this collector would ever again let us take her
next collection away from where ever she next gathers them.  She is still
advertising on-line in many places.
 
I do not know that our members would ever go through this again with
her if we could.  So it will be more animals that are probably going to
suffer.  Probably hundreds.  Collectors don't just stop collecting
without help.  She never even had a psychiatric evaluation, I understand.
 
I realize that you are probably so busy with weighty and significant human
situations, that the life and death of hundreds of helpless living beings
that can think, and fear, and feel pain and loneliness, boredom, and
stress, and that NEED protection from collectors seems a really low
priority.  This letter may well go into your garbage now.
 
But if you run across Mrs. Morrison starting to collect again -which was
already occuring just a few months ago in a Utah newspaper article--I
would beg that she never be allowed to own another animal, and be required
to seek the necessary psychiatric care to help her and prevent her from
hurting any more animals.
 
Please think and pray upon what I have written?
[Posted in FML issue 3757]