Also look out for dental floss (included used floss), thread, tinsel, string etc. As the intestine moves those tend to get stuck and then they cut right through the intestines just like people sometimes use dental floss to cleanly cut cakes. -------- <http://www.petproductnews.com/headlines/2009/04/01/hearing-slated-for-nonnative-species-ban.aspx> including the attempt to possibly ban ferrets nationally It looks like HR 669 originated from an importation ban based on assertions of environmental damage: http://www.petage.com/news040905.asp but if people allow the assertion that domestic ferrets cause environmental damage to continue that could encourage actual bans later IF HR 669 does not call for them now. Years ago a Wall Street Journal reporter on the Leonard Lopate Show mentioned that the total annual amount spend on pets and their needs was 32 Billion (with a B) and that of that ferrets probably accounted for 2 to 3 Billion (with a B). The number for ferrets helping commerce will be higher now. Plus, we are talking about a species that does NOT form wild populations in the U.S. where we don't have warning rabbits -- except on San Juan Island which has the warrening rabbits back in spades (bad joke about shoveling there) after someone's bad attempt to release ferrets to control the rabbits wound up with the ferrets only lasting a short while, but now eagles and foxes are using those rabbits as food and the locals in recent years prevented the fed from poisoning the rabbits in some federal land there. To find your own representatives in Congress and how to contact them if you don't have that info handy (if you are embarrassed about not knowing then you can pretend to be someone who recently moved in): your librarian your town hall your local small newspaper (some even list all the gov't contact info on their editorials pages) BY ZIP CODE and address (if the zip code splits districts): http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt The name will come up and you will see that there is a click-on link to the Representative's official website so click that and you will get contact info Sukie (not a vet) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html http://www.miamiferret.org/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html [Posted in FML 6294]