The original CDC group of studies on assorted strains of rabies is ferrets allowed ferrets to be covered by the same guidelines as cats and dogs. Going from the normal number of ferrets killed just due to accusations before then, in fewer than two years more ferrets were SAVED from unneeded sacrifice than died in testing. In fact, if you compare the number of ferrets used in testing to the number sacrificed to see if rabies was in brain tissue, some of the worst years for needless sacrifice killed more ferrets than were used in the testing in just those single years alone. Since then ferrets have become even more popular so the number saved is probably even better in succeeding years. Maybe I should make people aware of this given some private mails from people who were unaware because they not did not have ferrets then. Those who didn't have ferrets back then don't know this, and tend to not know of the preceding vaccine work that also saved ferret lives. All told, it took over a decade to prevent needless killings of accused ferrets. (Off hand, I can't recall how many more years.) After the final step it came down to the ferret community making sure that the health departments in each state knew, an effort in which I was very involved since the Morris Animal Foundation needed the data, so Steve and I absorbed several thousand dollars in personal costs making sure that all knew that the CDC work had finished, what the results were, and what pro-ferret changes happened to the NASPHV Compendium for Animal Rabies Control and Prevention. Ferret community members also informed their local hospital emergency rooms, which was another essential step. You can find the current guidelines here: http://www.nasphv.org/Documents/RabiesCompendium.pdf So, from the viewpoint of sheer numbers of ferrets saved, the original grouping of CDC studies (***which are still having some papers arise from their data***) very rapidly saved the lives of many more ferrets than otherwise would have died and each year since has continued to do so. BTW, as others who were around back then can confirm there was even a ferret killed just because a man cut his hand on a ferret cage, and a number killed because people had their exes or suitors they had rejected make false accusations of biting incidents. Sukie (not a vet) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.miamiferret.org/ http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html all ferret topics: http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html "All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow." (2010, Steve Crandall) [Posted in FML 7385]