You would think that the condition of the human race would speak for itself on the subject of discipline vs. abuse. There is a big difference between the two. I work in a field where I have been unfortunate enough to see first hand REAL animal abuse. A smack on the snout or a pinch on the whiskers does not constitute abuse. Just because one person does not agree with the method of another it is no reason to accuse them of abuse. Not all ferrets have the same personality and what works for one may not work for another. You cannot win, if you discipline you are being abusive. If you do not and the ferret bites someone, you are being threatened with lawsuits and putting the ferret's life in danger. I am sure Kathy felt she was doing a good deed. No one is questioning her right to express her opinion or concern, but she should have done so FIRST to the person in question. If she was not satisfied THEN she should have gone to a show official and reported it. If Kathy had spent five minutes talking to the person she would have come away with a much different opinion. IF someone looked at her like she was crazy it was only because of who she was reporting. Not because they are friends of anyone but because of the gentle personality of this person. True abusers are generally cowards and only do it behind closed doors or in parking lots not out in an open forum. People are so sure that there are such a favored few in the AFA that stands ready to attack if one of them is questioned. That could not be farther from the truth. There were a handful of people in the room that could be considered AFA "officials". There was quite a crowd of spectators, other animal "professionals" and the general public. Most who would not know an AFA "official" from the next person. Do you really think if someone was abusing a ferret everyone else in the room would ignore it? Most of the people who voice these opinions on the Internet do not personally know, nor have they even met any of the people they are so quick to condemn. Rarely are any of them eye witnesses, and freely admit to having never raised a litter of kits or even been to a ferret show. Why is it when someone or some organization does something that people perceive as good, it gets passing mention? Yet when something is perceived as bad it gets hashed around forever?.The AFA is constantly being crucified no matter what. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. If anyone thinks Vickie sounded terse who can blame her? I can't because I have been there. It is very frustrating. What Vickie left out about the volunteer JOB is that not only are you not paid for it, but it can often be a thankless job. No matter what you do, someone takes offense. You open yourself up to havoc in your personal life, you get threatening email. You gain a whole fan club of people who are so sure you are the evil incarnate and they don't even know you. You just cannot please people no matter what you do. Dozens of letters are sent into the AFA saying that part of the motto is to protect what are you going to do about it? Yet when enough evidence is gathered and something IS done about it, you are accused of being political and trying to rid yourself of competition. People will sit on the bench and watch you fight the battle and only get on the bandwagon on the side of the winner when the smoke clears. Then everyone has an opinion. How do you win? Some people are very vocal on these public forums, they could all do it better, yet none of them ever volunteer to help. They continue to let us fight the battles, while they continue to criticize us. Pat Stauffer Weasels http://pages.prodigy.net/staufferp/ [Posted in FML issue 3009]