Hi there, folks. I have not posted here before, but the situation in Utah seemed so horrific, I knew I had to learn more and get involved. I did indeed call Deanne Hymm, and asked her about the situation the ferrets were found in, what situation they are currently in, and their futures. Some of my questions were quite pointed, but she was open and I think honest with me about the entire business. The emergency we have been told about is, in a nutshell, bogus. The ferrets were removed from a condominium meant for two people, which contained two people and 260+ ferrets. Ms. Hymm described the cages as stacked so thickly that there was only enough floor space for a small pathway among them. She admits to the credit of the shelter operator that the ferts were fed and their cages cleaned, but the smell was overwhelming and there was no space at all for them to play in. "She meant well," Ms. Hymm said of the shelter operator,"she just got carried away." The fuzzies are currently being held in a large enclosed garage WITH a/c and appropriate temperatures being maintained. The animal control center is ALREADY working with PETA to ensure a suitable, healthy environment for the ferts. They have offered to contact liscensed shelters all over the US and Canada to care for the fuzzies, but Ms. Hymm says that the shelter operator, Ms. Morris (?), has refused to allow them to be moved to other shelters and insists on caring for them herself, in a *warehouse* (!) in S.E. Utah. Ms. Hymm says she has allowed the shelter peeps to care for and medicate the ferrets as needed. Who started the whole crisis? Apparently one Jessica Haley (sp?)who is in town to help organize the opening ceremonies for the Olympics took up temporary residence in the same condo complex and brought charges against Ms. Morris; well, it was illegal because of zoning and the animal control couldn't just pass the matter by, could they? The confiscation is thus also part of a legal case unrelated to anything A.C. wants or doesn't want. The ferrets will NOT BE EUTHANIZED! Not on Sept. 14th, not at some later time, not *at all*. Ferrets can still be adopted but only if Ms. Morris herself releases them to someone, because she is still the legal owner of the ferrets and because the ferts are "evidence" in the legal case. I don't know who started this whole pile of bull$%#!, with the euthansia and all, but it really, really makes me *very* angry. I even wrote to Inside Edition before I made this call. Someone has made a big, public fool of me and of many other well-intentioned people on the FML. It's not a flame, I guess they had their reasons, but for Pete's sake people, do a little research first! We have all been put through an emotional wringer for no good reason. If someone out there gets *reliable* information to the contrary, by all means, post it. [Posted in FML issue 3537]