This isn't a happy note, so if you don't want to read about the needless
death of a ferret kit - or the snide and insensitive comments of our State
Vet, Dr. Lee Hunter - please skip over it, because it will upset you.
 
Yesterday Dr. Lee Hunter authorized the euthanasia of yet another
ferret.   The story, & a transcript of Dr. Hunter's comments on the
subject follows:
 
The story:
 
This took place in a reputable pet store Durham, N.C., which takes excellent
care of its ferrets and has been supportive of the club/shelter.  The
ferrets are kept toward the back of the store, in a standard wire cage and
there are "do not touch" and "ferrets may bite" signs posted near the cage.
The store has a posted policy that children under 16 must be accompanied by
an adult.  According to the store employee I spoke with, a girl who
"appeared to be about 13 - but claimed to be 21" went into the store
yesterday and began poking her fingers through the bars of the ferret cage.
She was asked not to, but of course, the girl did anyway and the ferret bit
her, drawing blood, & causing the girl to "run out of the store screaming
and crying."
 
Later, the girl called the store to say that she had contacted Durham Animal
Control, & that they were coming over to "check the store's records." An
Animal Control official showed up at the door, claiming to be picking up the
ferret in for "quarantine." The official checked the records to make sure
the ferrets were "domestically bred" (they were) and confiscated the ferret.
Both the store manager and employees protested, & attempted to convince him
that this 12 week old kit, which came directly from breeder to pet store was
not a rabies risk.  Several hours later, the store received notification
from Durham Animal Control that the ferret had been euthanized.  When the
store demanded explanation for the euthanasia (and the lie the official told
them), they received a copy of the following fax from Dr. Hunter to aHealth
Dept. nurse who handles rabies vaccines.  Here is the transcript of Dr.
Hunter's fax:
 
"Ferrets and rabies - what a great subject.  Don't think that there have
been any hard feelings from the general public on this subject in, say,
several weeks.
 
First, ferrets can be vaccinated against rabies with a challenge-tested
vaccine (Imrab-3) which has been proven effective for a 1 year period.
 
However, the shedding period of rabies in their saliva prior to the onset of
signs of disease is unknown, so no quarantine period is valid.  The time
period is known for dogs/cats.
 
Plus we know that even vax dogs/cats can get rabies, so all dogs/cats that
bite undergo a 10-day quarantine/observation.
 
Therefore, I say that if a ferret is vax or not is of no importance
following a bite.  If the animal has been kept in such a manner to preclude
all possible exposure to a vector of rabies virus for the last 6 months
(approx.  incubation period), then the animal should not be killed and
tested following a bite.  If the animal has not been kept in such a manner,
it should be killed and tested for rabies.
 
As always, if the bitee and owner are one-and-the-same, I believe in warning
them and letting them make their own decision.  Likewise, if the bitee
doesn't wish to press the issue, education and warning seem like a good
alternative.  Lee
 
I think this is ridiculous, absurd, asinine, idiotic, stupid, insensitive,
and many other adjectives I can think of which are not printable in a family
newsgroup!  I also know that there is not a damn thing we can do about it
until those shedding studies are complete, because this is the 2nd time
we've had a runaround with Dear Dr. Hunter's dept.  A 12-week old kit died
because of this moron's rigid interpretation of policy!
 
How on earth did those of you in states which have reasonable laws
pertaining to quarantine get them approved?
 
Karen
Rogues Gallery Ferret Rescue
TriFL
[Posted in FML issue 1614]