Rebecca Stout <[log in to unmask]> wrote on 4/17/2005, 2:00 AM: >But this is the best news I've heard in years. YEARS. Finally. We >will get together to discuss what both sides love ... animals. We can >sit down and hear each others sides and positions several issues. I am glad that someone else sees this as an opportunity to try to address and work out some problems. I know that sometimes I am a bit of an optimist (maybe sometimes too much of one), and so I was concerned that others wouldn't see this as something good. And, I wanted to let people know about this, because if they are anything like me, they probably need time to think through what they want to say. Plus, since only a small fraction of the readers of this list will actually be at the Symposium, it will give the people who can't be there a chance to bring up their concerns on the list, so that people who are attending can bring up those points as well. I think discussions are great, as long as people show respect for one another. And, I hope this is a topic others will want to discuss, so that when the Symposium happens, those of us attending will have all of the concerns of people from this list ready to present to the pet store representatives. We all have so many complaints about what happens to ferrets in pet stores, and often with good reason. And many of us have tried to reach out to store personnel with little or no luck. But, the truth is, even store managers often have little control over the issues that concern us. They are required to follow company policy. If we hope to see changes made, we need to reach the higher levels of management. And now we are getting our chance. And, I do think change can happen if we approach these people with the right attitude. I have seen it happen before. For several years there was a very real problem in the Mid Atlantic states with ADV+ kits being sold at PetCOs. The kits were not MF kits, and were all handled by one particular animal distributor called Animals ETC. Animals ETC has a bad reputation with animal lovers because they will buy stock from anyone they can, and they do not provide very good conditions for the animals while in their care. People tried explaining the problem to Animals ETC management, and while they would pretend to listen, they made no changes and the problem continued. Finally, a member of the ferret community became acquainted with the regional manager for this area. She explained the problem to him, and made suggestions on how to solve it. About the same time, at least one employee at PetCO (who was also a ferret owner/lover) became aware of the problems, researched the issues, and started presenting the information to her management. The result was that the Mid Atlantic region PetCOs stopped dealing with Animals ETC and started carrying only MF kits. Now, this was over a year ago, and they may have since gone back to their old ways, but so far, I have not heard of problems like this reoccurring. I relate this story only to show that through persistence and discussion, changes can be made. And, we have one more advantage in St. Louis - Dr. Sandra Kudrak will be there. Dr. Kudrak is the vet who spearheaded the request to USDA to enact some specific regulations governing the transport and sale of kits. She will be speaking about her efforts, and how to make changes through the legal system, on Saturday morning, and will also be hosting a Table Topic on the subject during the Saturday lunch. I really do think this will be the best Symposium to date, because there will be so many great opportunities for people to learn, and to try and affect changes that will benefit ferrets. See you in St. Louis! -- Danee International Ferret Congress Health Issues Coordinator http://ferretcongress.org ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know! For more information visit: http://www.ferretadv.com You can help fight ADV! Visit: http://help4adv.terrabox.com/ [Posted in FML issue 4851]