Bob Church writes >I asked everyone to sign Linda Iroff's petition and everyone promised to >do so. Thanks Bob and welcome back from your trip, which seems to have been even more exciting than you planned. Hope your truck recovers quickly! But just to clarify, this is not MY petition! It is mostly the hard work of Dr. Sandra Kudrak and sympathetic people at the USDA, and is supported by a wide range of ferret people and organizations. For more information on the petition, see http://www.ferretcongress.org Below is another sample letter for those who aren't sure what to write. This one was written by Sukie Crandall, and is posted with her permission. Many blessings on those who have already written the USDA and their Congressional reps!! Linda Iroff ---------- I wanted to let you know that I strongly agree with Dr. Sandra Kudrak DVM who recently has made the USDA aware of the problems facing ferrets due to a lack of ferret-specific standards. So many times I have entered pet stores only to find myself seeing kits who have been removed from their mothers at too young an age: kits who are emaciated because they can't eat kibble, kits who have rectal prolapses due to being unable to tolerate the food for adult ferrets, kits who simply have no idea how to get along with others because they are too young. All too many of the latter arrive in our ferret shelters needing care and guidance; they work out in the long term with knowledgeable care but this problem could be so easily avoided. Far too many times I found myself in tears over ferrets who have died of heat stroke on tarmacs because the transporters have not known enough to understand that their temperature limitations are more strict than those for kittens or puppies. There are just too many situations in which ferret kits have suffered needlessly and medical care has been required at a very young age due to a lack of ferret-specific standards. Because these problems are ones which can be overcome, often with fair and economically viable solutions it would be great boon to the millions of ferret owners in the United States if the USDA reviewed and adopted the answers provided by knowledgeable veterinarians such as Dr. Kudrak. -------- Send to Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman 1400 Independence Ave SW Room 312-E Whitten Building Washington, DC 20250 [log in to unmask] 202-720-3631 Bobby Acord, Administrator of the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service 1400 Independence Ave SW Room 200-A Whitten Building Washington, DC 20250 [log in to unmask] 202-720-3668, Fax 202-720-3054 and Your federal congressional delegation. http://www.house.gov/writerep/ http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm [Posted in FML issue 4480]