>That was not a small percentage, and it was for a vet-access list that >help everyone and had no reason for anyone to be exercising a grudge. It was from the defunct vets list that began as the Mysterious Illnesses list. Because all questions had to be verified to avoid stepping on the toes of any vets I wound up with veterinary directories and making loads of phone calls. There was no reason for anyone to fake things, but some people did anyway, so false claims or false reports are very real dangers for any internet surveys (which can be eve more prone to misuse); therefore, I advised Danielle that she should try to verify all claims with the treating vets. >I don't see anything "preposterous" in the fact that their are numerous >MF "fakes" running around the Pacific North West. Unlike Danielle's >experience, the PETCO stores we are in contact with are aware that there >*may* be some problems with the source of their ferrets and seem not to >care. Or fake PVs (papers, no tat), or fake TFs (pink tats, papers?). or fake Hagans ("H" tats, papers?), or... (BTW: MF: ear dot tats, papers, and hard to find toe dot tats.) Heck, Sandi even ran into ones that someone (backyard breeder?, distributor?, pet store?) may have given questionable and unusual tats. This happens also with other animals besides ferrets. Disreputable places notice who does the advertising and which names are best known, then they sometimes make up phony papers or put on their own tattoos (more commonly they just say that a given farm is the source), and so on. That's why I figure that when reports of what was recommended don't mesh with what others have encountered (like that one unusual report about destroying a ferret) that the person reporting is not lying, but that instead there possibly was either a misunderstanding, or perhaps someone was dealing with a store or distributor with fakes from some backyard breeder that could be bought for maybe half what they'd pay for ones from the large farms. As we all know, backyard breeders are the puppy mill equivalent -- complete with in-breeding, poor nutrition, etc. Of course, a person can instead buy from a private breeder who keeps health and longevity records, or can really be a complete sweetie and get a ferret from a shelter. The shelter list is available from the FML, or can be found in the files at the FHL (addy in my post of resources today so look at the SOS list in the Files section). Here is one way to tackle bad petstores and shoddy distributors that fake sources. Since they tend to use inferior sources get your state legislator to pass a bill holding petstores responsible for covering the veterinary costs of health defects for at least the first 6 months of a major (ferret, dog, cat, large bird, etc.) companion animal's life, then urge your governor to pass it! They are trying to make a fast extra buck by cheating folks in relation to these animal types, so make it cost them through the nose instead! Then they will have to go to more reputable sources (private or farm) than the backyard breeders/puppy mills/kitten mills/etc., or stop selling animals and sell only supplies if they have a really bad track-record that can cost them. [Posted in FML issue 3628]