>From: [log in to unmask] >Subject: The True Animal Hero Karen Yaremkovich will be missed by many of us who have met her over the years. We will especially miss her this fall at the GCFA show where she was slated to judge. If anyone is in contact with the people who have her ferrets. We will gladly take back the ferrets she got from us - a pair of Swedes. And other ferrets if it will help. >From: Kim Sharp <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: New Ferret Shelter in Blacksburg, VA We aren't exactly in your area - way up the other end of the Great Valley of Virginia but let us know if we can help out from up here. >From: JudithMoon <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Re: My breeders >Manipulates jills....hmmm. Yes, I believe I do. Unlike some of the other >breeders who just cannot seem to get out of a rut, I do try new things. You seem to contradict yourself. You claim to do things the natural way but then do not. You seem to have no idea what others do but still belittle them. >And as for an occasional extra litter that to has no medical reason not to. That is your opinion. It is not shared by many other than the ranches. >Now as for a genetic defect being passed on. Let's see....I can follow >the lead of some of the "big names" in ferret breeding and just give up >ever trying to produce a healthy panda. We have not "given up" but those that have are those that actually understand that Waardenburg genes in and of themselves are a defect. You can not separate the deafness from the pattern. They are caused by the same thing. Is it giving up to no longer flap your arms because you understand that aerodynamically a human can not fly? Or is it just sensible? There are several other breeders including "big names" that continue to breed Waardenburg ferrets. So many for so long that much if not most of the genetic stock is polluted with these defective genes, all in the name of beauty that is only in the coat. There are other defects that you seem to be aware of associated with Waardenburg. Learn about genetics, that is what it takes to understand exactly what a panda ferret is. >I understand that many of the great thinkers and doers in this world have >had to put up with this same kind of bull so I will have good company in >my quest to improve the panda. Your quest is more like the Flat Earth Society than like Galileo. Being wrong may be different but it is not necessarily better. You are at odds with a lot of other breeders who have little in common; you are not at odds with a monolithic front. Tilting at windmills is fine but you are responsible for the ferrets you produce. You are dragging these other lives along with you. >I would not want to offend you with a hearing and healthy panda. Again understand genetics and you would know that some pandas will not be deaf. Some will. It is perhaps questionable to breed ANY Waardenburg ferrets. The gene seems consistent among numerous species; there are two or three types in humans. Only the not universally accepted type three is not associated with deafness. >The only mistake I made this year was to follow some advice given by one >of the "big names" and thereby lost nearly one whole season of breeding. Elsewhere you have mentioned us by name. Do not defame us for your mistakes. We have nothing to do with your failures. bill and diane killian zen and the art of ferrets http://www.zenferret.com [Posted in FML issue 3110]