Dear Ferret List:
 
Since I am from Washington, D.C., home of political intrigue, and because
members of my ferret club (Montgomery Ferret Club, Gaithersburg, MD)
insist on hosting a large, professionally run championship ferret show
every year, I get involved from time to time in "ferret politics".
 
What, you may ask, can possibly be political about the furry little
creatures?
 
Very simply stated, when you collect large numbers of people, put them
in touch with each other, and ask them to decide on *any* issue of even
minor magnitude, you get politics. I forget Websters exact definition
for politics, but if it doesn't cover (a) arguing over what the color
"tangerine" actually is, (b) why ferrets can be "wild" animals in one
county and "domestic" animals in the county next door, or (c) whether
or not cigarette smoking should or should not be allowed in a crowded
hall with livestock and small children, well that 'aint politics.
 
We have our national organizations--International Ferret Association
(I.F.A., which our club uses as a sanctioning organization for the ferret
show), United Ferret Organization (U.F.O.), which essentially coordinates
the one year guarantee you get when you purchase a ferret grown by Path
Valley Farms in Pennsylvania; Ferret_Fanciers Club of Pittsburgh, which
probably has the largest membership base in the U.S.; and the newly
formed Ferret Unity and Registration Organization (FURO).
 
Then there is the California Domestic Ferret Association (CDFA), which
deals with the local insanity of California Fish & Game and their total
ban on domestic ferrets; tons of local clubs, mostly affiliated with
one of the above major organizations; and finally, the ferret rescuee
activities, which usually associate with a local club.
 
Next time I'll regale you with delicious_details_of_how all these groups
manage their relations without killing each other.
 
Chip Gallo
                                                                          
[Posted in FML 0079]