Washington Post 24 Jun 1988 LOST FERRET PUTS OWNER BACK IN JAIL 2nd Person to Begin Rabies Innoculations Despite the tearful plea of the owner of a missing ferret that authorities fear may be rabid, Judge Thornton ordered Jennifer Au back to jail for contempt of court. Meanwhile, a second person who says he was bitten by a ferret in the pet store where Au''s animal was kept is scheduled to begin rabies innoculations. There is no federally approved rabies vaccine for ferrets. Testint the weasel-like animals for the disease involves decapitation, a fate Au sought to avoid by having an anonymous caller pick up her pet and hide it. Au, a biology major at Virginia Tech, says she does not know who has her ferret or where. Ed Kurlansky, vice president of the Docktor Pet Center where Au used to work, said last week that Fuji was brought to the store by a customer and that the animal's history was unknown. Au said Fuji had been in the store about a month before she adopted it--the same day the child was bitten by one of three ferrets in a bin. Yesterday, Prince William County health director said he had recommended that an unidentified 24 year-old man begin the inoculations. The man said he was bitten by a ferret in the same pet store a week before the child. The current rabies prevention treatment - six shots, generally in the arms and legs, over 28 days - is an improvement over its predecessor, which involved 21 inoculations to the stomach. The new treatment is still potentially dangerous. END OF ARTICLE then this from the Potomac News editorial page Fetter the Ferret Sales Jennifer Au has endangered a little boy in order to save her pet ferret. Her priorities are not only out of whack; they are disgusting. Miss Au was working at the Docktor Pet Center in Manassas Mall on June 3 when 5 year-old Austin Jacob Simpson was bitten by one of three ferrets. Health officials tested two of the three ferrets for rabies (unfortunately, testing involves decapitating the ferrets in order to examine their brain tissue.) The two ferrets were free of the disease. ** some history here about stuff previously related in other articles* ....where an anonymous person from the International Ferret Association picked Fuji up and hid her. If thats true, then Miss Au is not the only person who belongs in jail. The ferret freedom fighters who aided her misguided mission should be sent there too. This case raises issues other than Miss Au's deplorable behaviour. Ferrets are wild animals. They are known too bite small children. They can contract and transmit rabies. There is no approved rabies vaccine for ferrets. There is no accepted quarantine period to determine whether a ferret has rabies. So why are they being sold as pets? The first priority here is to locate Fuji, determine whether she is rabid, and complete or terminate the rabies prevention treatment for the child. Then, authorities must take a close look at whether ferrets should be sold or kept as pets. Owning a wild animal that has a proclivity to bite, but cannot be tested for rabies without being killed, does not seem fair to humans or to ferrets. END OF EDITORIAL [Posted in FML 0030]