FYI - after a 40 minute conversation, I do not believe Rachel Lamb of HSUS (a former PETA officer) approached our criticisms with an open mind. I did however, get her to admit A couple of factual inaccuracies in the HSUS statement on ferrets. Our letter to her follows. Keep up the pressure on HSUS until they soften their anti-ferret stand. NYC FRIENDS OF FERRETS P.O. Box 268 - Gracie Station New York, NY 10028 (212) 876-0090 July 5, 1995 Ms. Rachel Lamb The Humane Society of the U.S. 2100 L Street NW Washington, D.C. 20037 Ms. Lamb: Thank you for taking the time to arrange the conference call between us on Tuesday, June 27, 1995 which included your biologist Richard Farando and legislative advisor Amy Church, for the purpose of discussing the HSUS' public policy statements regarding pet ferrets. You stated that the HSUS is not anti-ferret, and that the purpose of our conversation was to address the criticisms we have recently written you and Paul Irwin in response to your statements on the CBS This Morning program and the written HSUS position on pet ferrets which you co-authored and is distributed by HSUS. While we do not see eye to eye on all aspects of pet ferret ownership, I believe we do agree for the need to only disseminate accurate information to the public. In discussing the language of your revised statement of October 1992 on ferrets, we would like to summarize that we agreed on two of the points we raised. In the section on Rabies, the HSUS statement that "...public health officials recommend that any ferrets who bites should be euthanized and analyzed for rabies" does not accurately reflect the entire public health community as there are many jurisdictions, including the State of New Hampshire, which have adopted an observation period in post-bite management. The inclusion of the language, "...many public health officials may recommend..." would responsibly characterize the true status of this situation. In the section on Biting, the term "attack" was used twice without ever defining what constitutes an attack, nor distinguishing the bite statistics which may record a defensive bite and an unprovoked one as the same. Therefore, the term "attack" does not accurately reflect recorded bite statistics and becomes a term which skews the statistical record with an anti-ferret bias. The term "bite" is the only term which truthfully reflects the record and should be substituted for the term "attack." While you stated that an immediate revision of the October 1992 statement was not being planned, we believe that given our agreement that the current statement does not accurately reflect the truth on these two paragraphs, it would be inappropriate and irresponsible to continue to distribute the current language. We urge you to revise it without delay. In closing, we are candidly alarmed that in the course of our conversation you made the assertion that pet ownership is a "privilege and not a right." We doubt if Constitutional scholars would agree with you on that. Pet ownership is well established family tradition going back thousands of years and crossing all national boundaries. So long as healthy pets are treated humanely by those who are their caretakers, we do not believe the government has any right to interfere in any way. Those who suggest that only cats and dogs are suitable as pets and encourage governmental prohibitions on other domestic animals clearly wish to trample on the rights of all Americans and we will oppose such misguided activism vigorously in all forums. To end animal suffering, we believe in education, not legislation. We caution you against making the kind of statements which lower the credibility of HSUS as an "unbiased" animal welfare organization, We remain at your disposal as a source of information on domestic ferrets, and we look forward to a revised statement on pet ferrets without delay. Very truly yours, Gary Kaskel Co-founder, NYC Friends of Ferrets Enclosure cc: Paul Irwin American Ferret Association California Domestic Ferret Association Ferret Unity & Registration Organization Shelters That Adopt & Rescue Ferrets League of Independent Ferret Enthusiasts Big Apple Ferrets United Ferret Organization Ferret Fanciers Club (Pittsburgh) Ferret Association of Connecticut Georgia Domestic Ferret Association Domestic European Ferret Fanciers & Breeders Association of Minnesota Loudon Area Ferret Fanciers [Posted in FML issue 1247]