Forwarded with permission from Dr. Freddie A. Hoffman, pediatrician, well known from the AFA through the years, who told that she would not have time to send this. She has a very interesting take on one way to cut the buzz -- our own negative book reviews on public sites. That seems so logical but I have never heard it proposed before. (*If* I get time tonight I will put some data summaries together.) > Sukie: > RE: Ferret Misstatement > > Thanks for the information. I looked up the quote on the CNN > transcript: > "COOPER: I want to put this in perspective for a moment. Household > pets and deer actually pose a far great threat to humans than bears. > Let's put it in perspective. According to Washington State University, > approximately two Americans are killed each year by grizzly bear. > But on average, moos kills six people every year; dog attacks are > responsible for 18 deaths; bee stings are responsible for 40 deaths a > year; while 140 people die in car crashes involving deer. We found > this interesting: Pet ferrets are responsible for four deaths every > year. Well, who knew." > > Searching further on the Internet, apparently this statement came > from a new book: > > "Last Breath : The Limits of Adventure" by Peter Stark > > From the chapter "The Sharp Sting of Paradise," on predators: > The world's deadliest animals are snakes, which kill over 100,000 > people annually, followed by crocodiles (960 human deaths), and > tigers (740). The much-feared shark falls far down the list -- only > about seven victims annually worldwide -- making it a lightweight > compared to the ostrich, which when cornered can kick viciously with > hammerlike feet and sharp talons and kills some 14 people every year. > As for the ferocious grizzly bear, it ranks about the same as > mustelids (weasels, skunks, and the like), which kill an average of > four humans a year, primarily pet ferrets attacking unattended babies. > > http://www.booknoise.net/lastbreath/index.html > > Statements pulled from books, such as this one are very difficult > to debunk at the point of the reporting (Coope's statement). Last > year an Infectious Disease doc from UCLA wrote a book, > "Bitten," which also was quoted in MENS's MAGAZINE. > > I wrote a letter to the Editor from the AFA. The Editor, however, > asked if his sourcing was mistaken. It was not. The magazine > article was reporting on a published book -- no more. So I could > not get anywhere with a response or retraction. Indeed, I actually > ended up purchasing the book and read the section about ferrets. > The author's material was based on old propaganda put out by the > California Department of Health back in the 1980's. > > The book above is probably derived from the same old > misinformation. [There is nothing at the CDC Mortality Statistics > site that I am able to find on a quick search.] > > When I represented the American Ferret Association, we had long > discussions about how to address this kind of misinformation. > Technically anyone can say what they want under the First Amendment's > Freedom of Speech. If one can prove harm --- that is, slander, then > one can sue for retraction and damages, but you may know how difficult > this is -- and costly to go after folks legally. > > In addition, if one makes noise about such misstatements, it can > actually bring more "buzz" around a book, rather than to "bury it." > > May I propose the following: > > Get a copy of this book. Buy one (I bought a copy of "Bitten".) > Read it and review it -- submit balanced reviews to the Amazon and > other website review sites. But it cannot all be about ferrets. > One can say, while the book may be exciting as read, but the the > information upon which it is based is severely flawed, misinterpreted, > nonexistent, fictitious, etc. > > If the book does refer to a formal statement by a government > organization (including Calif, that is the point at which the > FERRET COMMUNITY should be getting active. [Posted in FML issue 4977]