I am so glad to see that the AFA public persecutions are coinciding with the Easter holiday season. For the record, AFA is not a policing organization. AFA does not recommend or endorse any of the breeders, shelters or vendors at an AFA hosted/sanctioned shows. It is up to the individual consumer to make up his or her own mind to do business with someone. When the AFA gets multiple (more than one) complaints concerning a breeder, shelter or vendor, then and only then can steps be taken to determine if the accusations are true and action is warranted. AFA will not take action with information based solely from a single individual. Just because one person does not agree with something another individual is doing does not necessarily make that person s actions wrong or in this case abusive. Fact #1: Kathy approached me and another member of the AFA board of directors with concern on the disciplining of a ferret. We both knew the breeder in question and the other board member went down immediately to discuss the matter with her. This breeder s 10 year track record and reputation have always been clear of accusations of abuse, neglect or any other perpetration against ferrets. Actually, her reputation is that she dotes on the ferrets and agonizes over their care and spends much of her time and resources volunteering at ferret education events and assisting with ferret related publications. The only complaints ever received against this breeder is that she smooches and pets all the ferrets she meets and due to recent concerns about the spread of diseases, some folks were concerned that this would transmit germs from ferret to ferret. Fact #2: Of all the people at the breeder s table, the people looking at the ferret in question, only one person, out of all those around, saw this disciplinary action as abusive. If Kathy thought the action was obviously flagrant disciplinary abuse, wouldn t the other people around at that time have considered the same and reported it? Fact #3: The breeder, when questioned within 30 minutes of the alleged incident, did not remember disciplining any of her ferrets while showing them to others. Since I did not see the discipline and did not go with Kathy to point out the breeder, is Kathy really sure she has the right person? Also, the allegations that the official pointed out the accuser are not true. However, any person being accused of something has the right to meet their accuser, face to face. Kathy s first action should have been to speak directly to the breeder to discuss her viewpoint of the actions she observed. Then, if Kathy wasn t satisfied with the response, her next course of action should be to report the incident to officials. Fact #4: The persecution of a different breeder was not at an AFA show, despite the allegations outlined in Ms. Eckert s post. It was the July WarmFuzzy show in PA. And to set the record straight, the individual that posted against the breeder from the July PA show, when asked to visually identify the breeder, agreed that it wasn t who she thought it was so she was flaming the wrong person! This ferret was being scruffed firmly for disciplinary actions and he was vocalizing as some young ferrets will do. The ferret in question was a 3 pound, 5 month old hob who bit some folks when they were trying to pick up other ferrets. This was not ferret abuse by any means. In this day and age, parents are getting thrown in jail for disciplining their children just because someone doesn t think a child should be spanked. Others feel the need to voice their concerns in a public forum even when they were not present and have no clue as to what really happened. Animal abuse should not be tolerated, child abuse should not be tolerated, and the public character abuse of an individual without substantiated proof should not be tolerated. I was not privy to the incident, and no one else has come up to voice their perception of the action - and I mean an eye witness account of the incident in question. Making the breeder s name or the AFA official s name who took the complaint public record is not appropriate either. I had a good laugh at the posting about these AFA people are hired for x, y, z. HAH!!! Hired? Enslaved maybe but I have yet to see any money flow in this direction! As mentioned numerous times in the past, the Board members and event personnel are all VOLUNTEERS! There is no pay for all of their work. They do it because they are committed to the ferret, not for monetary reasons. If you wish to flame me, please do so, I don t subscribe to the FML, I don t have the time to read it. And if you are bold enough to email me directly, my email address is [log in to unmask] If you really want to make a difference in the ferret world, then please volunteer for the AFA. If there is something you don t like about the AFA, then YOU work to make it better! Don t just sit there on your computer and bitch about it! Vickie McKimmey, AFA President [Posted in FML issue 3005]