To Jeanne Stadtmiller: You have made one of the most impressive presentations I have seen. Wow, do you know your facts! I have seen Totally Ferret bring ferrets on the edge around. My guys love it, but I do still feed a mix. In the past year we have seen some super ferrets come through the LIFE shows who were eating only TF. By the way, in case it was a problem for anyone, I understand that their new bags have been printed, and they have eradicated all mention of the AFA. To Mary McCarthy: I agree with you 100%! You have raised some tremendous issues that EVERYONE who discusses this should consider. I didn't know it was illegal for anyone but Vets do do spay/neuter in NY. Let's do a little math. MF has said that they have 10,000 breeding ferrets and ONE vet. Assuming 3 litters a year per jill (at equal numbers of jills and hobs--it could be 9000 jills and 1000 hobs, we just don't know) and an average litter size of 8, = 290 surgeries a day to keep up. Are we supposed to believe they are all performed by one vet??? Anyway, that makes *at least* 120,000 ferrets a year. We know that not all wil l make it. So let's estimate 100,000 ferrets sold a year. MF says that no more than 10% go to medical research. They are the pet industry's MAJOR supplier... In a recent survey of shelters that I conducted we found that about 90% of all the ferrets we get in are pet store ferrets. We as rescues don't love them any less, we love them more, because we usually get sick or discarded animals. Shelter's vet bills run in the hundreds a month...mostly for the pet store ferrets. In my 12 years keeping ferrets I have never had a pet store ferret live longer than 6years- and at that age usually riddled with some kind of cancer. We hold these ferrets a little closer, love them a little more, and do everything medically possible to try to alleviate their suffering, because we usually get them when they "aren't any fun anymore," or have lost all their hair, or have a big bulge, so the owners say they "have to get rid of it." In my opinion, people should have to adopt animals just like they adopt child ren, but then again the courts are full of child abuse cases too. I don't know what the answers are, but I know first hand what the problems are. One final word: Whatever differences there may be over issues, I think we all agree that Bill Gruber deserves tremendous credit for the great job he's doing. FML is better than ever !!! Ann Davis, ACME Ferret Company (Rescue & Info Service) LIFE National Coordinator LIFE Championship Judge Publisher, The Independent Voice Project Breed Rescue Directory Natl. Ferret Coordinator FFIRC Disaster Response Codirector Member of STAR* Ferrets and just about about every other ferret club in the universe, etc., etc., and so forth. (Rose Smith taught me how to sign this way<vbg>). [Posted in FML issue 1071]