Tequita writes >An individual was told that China is breeding ferrets in LARGE numbers >and sells them to Canada for research. There was some concern about >the bird flu crossing into ferrets, and then the fear of it passing to >humans. Yes ferrets are very susceptible to bird flu, see for example <http://www.avoidbirdflu.com/article.php?id1=4989> The question remains if they can pass it on to other ferrets or humans. Right now, the only known transmission is directly from bird to other species. There is apparently a shortage of ferrets for doing the research necessary to find an effective bird flu vaccine. <http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/ 1075850295264_11/?hub=Health> I don't know that there are a lot of ferrets in China, so they make no sense as a source of research animals. Large US and Canadian breeders are more likely sources. Linda Iroff International Ferret Congress http://www.ferretcongress.org [Posted in FML issue 5170]