This is an excerpt from a letter written by Bill Phillips of the CDFA which we carried back in issue 039: | One of the tragic incidents involved a 6 month old infant in England that was | killed by her father's polecat-ferrets*1. The newspaper clipping of that | incident included in their chapter to show just how misleading information | can be when it is taken out of context and misrepresented by so-called | "authorities". | | In every case that is reported there are common themes that seem always to be | present. | | First, there is always gross parental neglect. | | Two short examples: In the English case the parents went down to the local | pub for a few hours leaving the baby unattended. The home showed signs of gross | neglect, not only of the baby, but of all animals therein. The animals involved | in the incident were "polecat-ferrets". The term "polecat-ferret" has special | meaning in England and refers to a polecat-ferret cross that is bred for | hunting. (Handbook of British Mammals, Supra). | | In the Carson City case involving a 29 day old baby the facts established that | while the monther was out drinking with friends, the father was home drinking | by himself. He placed the animal in question, which had been found in the | backyard the day before, in the baby's crib to quiet the child. He fell into | a drunken stupor and when the mother returned several hours later, the baby | had been chewed on by the animal resulting in disfiguring injuries. Who did | the investigating officer (Det. Coffee) blame? The animal. It makes you | seriously question the minimum standards for being a detective in Carson City. [The latter infant did not die.] This is the one probably you're referring to (issue 123): |Date: Wed, 6 Feb 1991 10:03:00 -0500 |From: Len Bliss <CONRAD.APPSTATE.EDU!BLISSLB> |Subject: Alleged ferret attack on baby | |>From the Charlotte Observer (6 February 1991) reprinted without permission |(of course!): | | PET FERRET ATTACKS, KILLS 2 1/2 - MONTH-OLD BABY | | Portland, Ore. -- A 2 1/2 -month-old baby died after she was attacked |in her sleep by the family's pet ferret. | Vivian Bettencourt bled to death after she was repeatedly bitten, |state medical examiner Dr. Larry Lewman said. Lewman said he knew of no |other fatal ferret attacks anywhere else in the United States, although the |19- to 21-inch-long animals, relatives of weasels, minks and otters are |blamed for numerous attacks on people. These are the only serious attacks I have anything on. No followup on the latter. But this may give you some leads. [Posted in FML issue 0758]