Hi, everyone.
 
I just wanted to pass along something that just happened.  I live in
Huntsville, Alabama.  I just received a call from the Birmingham Zoo
(Birmingham is about 1.5 hours south of Huntsville) asking if I had a
ferret that I could donate to their education program.  On the surface,
it seems like a good idea; a Zoo educating the public about ferrets.
However, a friend of mine who once worked for the Zoo told me that as
far as she knew, the Zoo still had a policy of telling the public that
ferrets are exotics and should not be owned as pets, even though a lot of
people do own them as pets.  I asked the woman if this was still their
policy and she said yes, that exotics such as ferrets and tigers should
not be owned as pets.  I asked her if she was putting ferrets in the same
group as tigers and she pointed out that ferrets are different from
tigers (obviously), but are still exotic.  When I asked her for the Zoo's
definition of exotic, she told me that she was not looking for an
argument (I could tell that she was in no way anticipating that I would
be the one asking most of the questions) and that if I could not help
her, then "thank you".
 
For those operating shelters in the southeast, I want to make you aware
that the Zoo may be calling you.  This woman was very polite, but even if
I were in the position to donate one or two ferrets, I would not donate
to an organization who is telling people that ferrets should not be owned
as pets.  Unfortunately, I was not able to ask her many other questions
since she cut the conversation short.
 
-Mark Zmyewski
 Huntsville, Alabama
[Posted in FML issue 4408]