It grieves me greatly to think of ferrets being used in laboratories. Living in cold sterile environments, handled without compassion, no bedding, no snuggle places, no toys, no joy in living. Their suffering and lack of hope, comfort and kindness must be unbearable. Can you even imagine waking up each day knowing that there is nothing to look forward to? I, personally, do not want to benefit in any way from the suffering of any another living being. If that means that I don't live quite as long or as well as I could have because I refused "miracle drugs" or other modern conveniences, then so be it. In life, the choices worth making are usually the hardest. Every time I look into one of their little faces, so trusting and full of love, I know that the choices I have made on how I will live my life are the right ones. Ultimately the compassion you generate in this life is all that you really leave behind. I think LABBS is out of place on a forum that is about beings that most of us treat like our own children. I also question their "right" to rebroadcast without our permission and I will have to seriously consider the content of anything I send to the FML in the future. I feel like BIG BROTHER is watching and we are no longer in control of our own forum. Ann Davis [Posted in FML issue 0735]