This week has been real quiet. The current though is that the ranch will not be shut down. PETA made a big stink about the cruel way the mink were put down - apparently the ranch owner used an insecticide/poison injected into the chest of the animals. It is expected the rancher will get scolded officially for doing this. The poison he used is no longer available so he obviously can't use it anymore anyway. The many ferret rescues and clubs that are monitoring the situation still have contingency plans but do not expect to do anything. The ferret clubs most local to the ranch are not happy with the way it is run but until something illegal is done that would cause the state to get involved all they (and we) can do is sit back and disapprove. I have not seen the ranch personally as of this point - I may make a trip out to see for myself what is going on. Other ferret folks have gone out - or planned to - and I will report here when I get word from them. Thanks to everybody who has expressed concern. bill and diane killian zen and the art of ferrets [Posted in FML issue 1206]