Lets start with Spay/Neuter surgeries. First, I see no problem with techs doing the surgeries at MF. You see this sort of thing at your own dentist's office. Your dental hygenist was trained to clean your teeth. He/she, unless trying for a DDS, most likely has no where near the training to do what your dentist does, but you do not request that your dentist do your cleaning. Those techs at MF were trained to do spay/neuter surgeries. They have most likely done many hundreds each, if not more, into the thousands. Certainly a vet might also do the surgery well, and perhaps in some cases better, but it cannot be said that those techs aren't experienced enough to do them. As to botched surgeries, I have no doubt that it happens, but as with shipping too early, considering the numbers of ferrets who come out of MF in rather healthy shape, I would say that botched surgeries are not by any means common, comparatively. Of course it can be said that once is too often, but we must try to keep things in perspective. Demanding that a well-trained tech is not good enough, when that tech most likely has done hundreds of well-done surgeries is narrow-minded. As to retired breeders going to a vet clinic and used to teach trainees to do these same surgeries, surely you cannot demand that a vet does these surgeries, and then become enflamed when MF sends their retired breeders to a clinic so that VET trainees can learn to do them. Sounds rather self-defeating to me. Certainly these trainees have spent hours practicing on ferret cadavers, much like human medical students. But also like human medical students, these trainees will eventually have to do their first surgery on a living animal. In both cases, the student hopes that they do it right, and these living beings make it through. Those ferrets need to be spayed/neutered. And those people aren't getting paid to do it, like your vet might. But I've said it before, and I'll say it again, medical research is benificial, and those who believe otherwise are only looking out of one eye, only seeing one side. Your own vet most likely did their own first surgeries under similar circumstances. Would you deny them that experience before letting them put YOUR ferret under the knife? Just some thoughts. [Posted in FML issue 3633]