During the recent NYC Health Dept.  public hearings on a proposed ferret
ban, a veterinarian from New Hampshire was quoted by Health Dept.
officials as an authority who opposed legalization (although veteinarians
from the local teaching hospital, Animal Medical Center, who favored
legalization, were not).
 
Under Freedom of Information laws, I obtained the letter he wrote, the
complete text of which follows:
 
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Franklin Veterinary Clinic
39 Hill Road
West Franklin, NH 03235
[tel. 603_934_7179]
 
To Whom It May Concern:
 
I have been a veterinarian for 15 years, practicing first in Meriden, CT,
and for the past ten years in Franklin, NH.  My practice consists entirely
of cats, dogs, ferrets, rabbits, and small rodents.  I enjoy all of thew
species, and each of them has its place.  I would like to lend my
experience and expertise with ferrets to the controversy surrounding their
legalization in New York City.
 
In the proper hands, a ferret may be a wonderful pet, as I am sure would a
tiger cub.  Nevertheless, both may pose significant threats in the wrong
circumstances.  My fears, should ferrets become legal in NYC, fall in to
several categories.
 
First, I fear they may escape, or be dumped - dozens show up in local
shelters here all the time - and turn feral.  Although they do not tolerate
cold well, a city environment will afford them with plenty of protection
from the elements.  This has been seen in Hartford and Bridgeport CT.
Lacking an innate fear of man, these aggressive creatures may have a
profound effect on the indigenous park species of birds and small mammals,
and may well have direct contact with man.
 
That leads to my second concern.  Rabies is a big issue with ferrets, and
although some preliminary research has shown they may have an antemortem
shedding period for the virus is similar to cats and dogs, the research is
not conclusive.  In addition, there is an extremely limited choice of
rabies vaccines which carry approval for this species.
 
Last, and most important, is their interaction with infants.  The reports
of ferret attacks on small infants are not exaggerated, nor are they
isolated incidents.  Even the most ardent ferret proponent would not think
of leaving their infant unattended for even 60 seconds in the presence of a
ferret.  I am personally aware of two attacks upon infants caused by
completely normal ferrets that were patients of mine.  One of the babies
was nine or ten months old when the attack happened.  During the attack the
child's eyelid was torn off.  In both instances the parents believed that
the ferrets were in "escape proof" cages.
 
We do not fully understand why ferrets exhibit these behaviors.  Some have
suggested that sounds or perhaps smells engage their hunting instincts.
Whatever the cause, you have the opportunity to prevent similar attacks of
infants that are bound to happen if ferrets are permitted in NYC.  If it
were possible to go back and prevent their legalization here in NH, I would
do it, despite the fact that individually I may enjoy them very much.
 
Sincerely,
/s/ Barry N. Taylor, DVM
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After reading this letter, I looked up Dr. Taylor's number and telephoned
him several times without having my calls returned.  In addition, the
office staff was particularly nasty in their demeanor when I inquired about
whether Dr. Taylor was the clinic's owner.  Only after leaving a message
that I intended to post his letter on the internet, did Dr. Taylor return
my call.
 
I first inquired how it was that a New Hampshire vet would come to file an
opinion about a NYC matter.  Dr. Taylor told me his opinion was solicited
by the Humane Society, but refused to identify any individual.  (My
subsequent investigation revealed that it was actually the Center for
Animal Care and Control, the Health Dept contractor that runs the NYC
animal shelter system, that sought the anti-ferret opinion.  That entity is
under the direct control of City Hall.  It's revealing how desperate the
City had to be to find an anti-ferret opinion in this case.)
 
When I attempted to discuss the specious opinions contained in his letter,
I found Dr. Taylor to be defensive, evasive, and completely unwilling to
discuss the factual basis for his references to rabies, feral ferrets in
Connectiucut, and the purported infant bites.  Dr. Taylor would change the
subject and then talk over me in a manner I would call rude, obnoxious and
unprofessional.
 
Bottom line, the guy knows he did something that ticks off a lot of people,
and he's afraid of incurring the wrath of the internet community (he
threatened to sue me if I posted his letter, claiming it was copyrighted.
When I informed him that his public document was in fact not protected by
copyright, and invited him to come sue me in New York if he didn't agree,
he then insisted that I could post it if I did so in its entirety.)
 
Our battle of words lasted just a few minutes, but I did suggest to Dr.
Taylor that his conduct was much like the kid who throws a rock through a
window and runs.  When he was unable to make a respectable argument for his
venomous anti-ferret propoganda, he did what every coward in the veterinary
and public health community does when their back is against the wall, he
hung up on me.
[Posted in FML issue 2752]