I really really hope that my post will make some people consider another point of view on ADV testing for shows besides the one posed in yesterdays FML. I have rarely if ever come forth into any contraversial debate as it is not my style. I'm not an activist, I'm just an advocate for ADV awareness and education. This is an emotionally charged issue here, and it shouldn't be. The reason so many ferret events and shows have chosen to "require" ADV testing is because it is the responsible thing to do, and the logical thing to do in trying to help prevent the spread of this disease. I really am grateful to the AFA for taking such action in promoting the testing of ferrets for AFA sanctioned shows. I can not state enough how erroneous this view is: "If it is a highly contagious there should have been a major outbreak in the show circuit before now." There are many reasons why it hasn't had an outbreak even with the past lack of testing. - One is for the most part, many events and shows have taken fair precautions for the spread of disease for years. In the past several years, precautions have been fairly aggressive due to ECE, and ADV. - Because the number of ferrets attending shows are a very small fraction of the total number of ferrets in the U.S. and the world (thereby reducing the risk) - Because ferrets that are actively shedding the virus the most, often have health problems that prevent them from comming (let me state that ferrets can have full blown ADV and not show a single symptom at times however and are gorgious) - Because ADV in ferrets has not been as common as it is now. Virus's change, and mutate. It appears to me that not only has this happened (ADV mutates in general, there are differeing types in mink, and it had to mutate to be contagious to ferrets to begin with long ago), but there may be varying mutations out there. This is evident in the fact that there seems to be (and I"m not expert) ADV that is extremely fast and aggressive and leaves the ferret with an early cough, and there seems to be ADV that does not have an early cough and has little symptoms in comparison. There are homes where ADV has spread fast and readily to most ferrets in the home,,, there are homes (and shelters) where it has been contained fairly easily. So it stands to reason that perhaps past forms of ADV were not as contagious as now. I can only imagine how many reasons there are of why there has not been a full blown, wide spread epidemic. Can you say luck?! Can you say by the grace of God? Since only a small sampling of ferrets in the world are tested for ADV, we have no idea how wide spread the disease is. It could be very rampant for all we know. Do you want to risk finding out? The apparent view of thinking that since one possibly can be exposed to ADV in any number of settings does not make it right to do all you can in making a show or event as safe as possible. It very well maybe that the chance of being exposed to ADV at a show who even has an ADV positive ferret walking about is minimal for all we know with such precautions. But I pose this to you ... I'm sending you up in an airline, and I"m going to tell you that one person will die on the plane trip and thats a fact. One person out the entire plane is all. It's just a small chance. After all you might walk in front of a truck and be killed the next day. You are exposed to risks all the time. But it's a fact you can't get away from - someone will drop dead on said flight. Would you then fly on that plane knowing that when you land one of you will be dead? It's that simple. Why, why open yourself up to risk when you have one more line of precaution you could take... to test? Yes, they are not fail proof, yes they are only snap shots of time in some part in the beginning stages of ADV... but testing could catch just that one ferret... that would cause devastation in peoples lives. Wolfy Please visit: http://www.geocities.com/wolfysluv/ for information on ferret deafness: http://www.geocities.com/wolfysluv/deaf.html [Posted in FML issue 3744]