I received a call at the shelter during dinner time last night. A young gal was on the other end - she reported that her vet told her to call for information. It seems she purchased a ferret from a mom & pop pet store in rochester, nh. She considered the purchase a rescue as the ferret had goopy eyes and she felt sorry for it. The young lady received a copy of the Marshall Farms health certificate on this reported eight week old ferret and a sales receipt. She was concerned that the ferret was bedded on pine shavings not aspen and perhaps that is how the eye infection began. I told her it might also be due to a respiratory infection form shipping. The vet had treated the eye and done a thorough physical on the ferret . He found the ferrets temperature elevated to 105 degrees. The eye was treated and the ferret will return if any symptoms linger. So what's wrong with this scenario?? This is a hot topic in NH! There is a administrative rule that ferrets imported for sale in NH must be : 1;. QUARANTINED for 48 hours before sale 2. Must have had a NH licensed veterinarian issue a health certificate ( each individual animal BEFORE SALE to the public. In the above case there was no health certificate clearly -- and the ferret was sold ill. The punishment for non compliance is a $1,000.00 fine for the first offense. I have urged the young lady to please follow through and file a complaint backed by veterinarian records in this matter. IF ANYONE PURCHASES A FERRET IN NEW HAMPSHIRE- ( starting date June 2006) Make sure the ferret has a health certificate issued for that specific animal by a licensed NH veterinarian. The health certificate is valid ONLY for 14 days-- so if the ferret has sat in the store more than that it needs an additional health certificate issued before legal sale can be made! If your purchased ferret does not - you need to report the incidence to The State Veterinarian. The contact information is listed below: Dr. Stephen Crawford, Director New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food 25 Capitol Street, 2nd Floor Concord, NH 03302 (603) 271- 2404 email: [log in to unmask] These rules were put into place to ensure the animals do not suffer adn also to protect consumers who have incurred huge medical bills. PLEASE thank Dr Crawford for attempting to protect young ferrets-- and more importantly - MAKE YOUR PET SHOPS AWARE THAT THIS IS A REQUIREMENT - to date only NH Petco's are adhering to the health certificate compliance -- So- lets show the small independent pet retail stores we know the law and they owe it to the ferrets. If they do not produce the required paperwork- shop for your ferret at Petco! Alicia Drakiotes a ferret advocate! [Posted in FML 5534]