There is a lot of "call this authority" "call that authority". I called on a breeder in MI once and actually talked a highly overworked USDA inspector to inspecting (he was licensed) this guy against her will and judgement. Despite conditions that we would think horrific, he was just told to clean poop more and unfreeze the water. Which I'm sure he did for all of 2 weeks. You have to understand - Federal, State, County, City etc. standards for abuse are VERY LOW. Frankly I'm not sure there are any sometimes. And if the person is licensed to breed and sell at a wholesale level the standards are even lower. And boycotting him from onesie twosie sales won't help because he is probably wholesaling them for retail (can anyone confirm this?) And no govt official will immediately just ride in like the calvary - they will cite, make recommendations for improvement. If any small improvement is made by the second visit they probably won't come back, they are totally understaffed and overwhelmed with the numbers and levels of abuse and violators. 1) I truly think that trying to find sympathetic lawyers who will commit some time to going the legal route - both against DM and getting the laws changed is the only way to really do anything about this. BIG - how many times has he come up? Nothing changes. If a fund can be developed to pay some lawyers that would be great although I think volunteer legal time is the only way as its too expensive. [Offhand I don't recall an exact number -- but many times! BIG] 2) I think its essential to get a big national group involved, if you can, if your lucky. They can get media coverage, they have lawyers, and they are trained in shutting this sort of place down. YOU DON"T HAVE TO AGREE WITH EVERYONE OF THEIR TENETS. YOU DONT HAVE TO LIKE THEM. Maybe if they were running an Auschwitz or something you wouldn't want to call but get real, they are not despite them using some tactics many disagree with. No compromise means no action and the ferrets will continue to be abused year after year. I think the good ferret owners of Ohio have tried shutting him down with all the suggested ways in the past. You have to up the ante or its simply not going to happen. It will just be another flurry of posts on FML that will again fade with time. Mary in Nebraska [Posted in FML 5529]