I heard back from one of the folks I know and trust in the Ecology and Evolution Dept. at Stony Brook. The incident with the ferrets did take place at Stony Brook, but not only was it not sanctioned, it was not research, and it did NOT involve a professor or even a graduate student. An undergraduate did it about 15 years ago, thinking that it would be research and then the you-know-what hit the fan. It led to even tighter writing of guidelines which had already been strict. So, it happened but PETA falsely attributed it to a graduate student and a professor and PETA falsely tried to pass it off as an example of research. Helps sometimes to know good and trusted people in just the right place... At least we know the reality now. It wasn't staged by PETA but it was falsely portrayed by them. [Posted in FML issue 4077]