Kim, >I read with much heartbreak about the ferrets that were sick and dying >due to insecticides in hotel rooms while travelling to shows which >makes me ask the question again...at what price a ribbon or trophy? This could just as easily have happened to someone traveling on vacation with their ferrets. Regardless of why the ferrets were in the hotel room, the fault lies with the HOTEL. Not with the owners (who had their ferrets in a pen and the pen on a mat -- the ferrets never had contact with the actual hotel floor). Why would you try to make those folks who lost their ferrets feel worse about something that was no fault of their own? >When completing my paperwork for the upcoming AFA show, I notice that >the rules are even more stringent regarding vaccinations as your ferret >must be vaccinated with a specific Rabies vaccine determined by AFA. There is only one rabies vaccine that is tested and approved for ferrets - Imrab-3 by Merial. This was not determined by the AFA or any other show organization - it was determined by the USDA. If another rabies vaccine is used, the ferret is not considered protected against rabies and if a bite incident occurs, the ferret will need to be put down for rabies testing. You may want to read up on your vaccination facts :) As far as canine distemper -- AFA no longer checks the CD records at the door and are helping with the CD titer study that Dr Heller is conducting. That shows me that they do care about the over-vaccination problem. If you (or anyone) has a better idea on how to have a show where you can insure the public health in case of a bite incident, as well as educate folks on vaccination requirements in ferrets, and yet still not cause the ferrets harm by doing yearly vaccines, please feel free to share. Mary www.ferretrescue.com www.nbferret.com [Posted in FML 5734]