At several people's request, I am posting the outline of the Ferret Paper on the FML. Since many of you have helped me with some of the research, you have a right to comment; however, to save the FML a lot of hassle and space, please e-mail any comments directly to me. I don't promise that I will accept ANY suggestion; this is my paper (= my reputation) and I am writing it to professional standards. Also, I have no control of the editing process. I do promise to answer each comment. WORKING TITLE: An investigation of Mustela putorius furo as a household pet. I. History of the Domestic Ferret A. Recorded history B. Archaeological history C. Speciation history 1. Mustela furo vs Mustela putorius furo etc. etc. II. History of ferret controversy A. Feral Ferrets 1. New Zealand 2. England 3. Why the ferret has never become feral in USA B. Behaviors 1. Biting a. Mock biting b. Dominance biting c. Defensive biting 2. Play a. Play attacks b. Curiosity 3. Socialization a. Pecking orders 4. Human misunderstanding a. Anthropomorphism C. Attacks on Children 1. Commonalities a. Parental involvement b. Acceptance of ferret c. Lack of ferret socialization 2. Correlations a. Ferret age b. Child age c. Presence of bottle/food 3. Other factors a. Play instinct b. Prey Behaviors D. Impact of feral ferrets 1. New Zealand 2. England 3. United States III. Comparison of Ferret to other animals A. Injuries resulting in death 1. Ferrets 2. Dogs 3. Cats 4. Domestic Livestock 5. Wild animals B. Injuries resulting in mutilation 1-5. above C. Injuries resulting in treatment 1-5. above D. Impact on wildlife 1-5. above E. Rabies F. Canine Distemper G. Robustness and general health IV. European attitudes towards the ferret V. Statistical analysis of data VI. Conclusions The basic argument is very simple; state the objection, show the lack of scientific control concerning objection, then refute objection using sound and rigorus argument. Tried and true. For example: Showing the face of a little girl mutilated by a ferret can be taken as evidence that a singular ferret attacked a small child, but what about the other five million ferrets? This is guilt by association, and is as convincing as showing the face of a girl mutilated by a domestic dog, and concluding all other dogs are bloodthirsty. Or condeming all human males because one raped a woman. This isn't evidence; this is hyperbole, designed to replace evidence with emotion and to trick the viewer into accepting falsehoods rather than examining the evidence. This evidence might be rigorus enough for Good Morning America, but it ignores the factual issue. The question is, do ferrets attack children at a rate higher than other domestic animals? (Present evidence). And so on. If, after looking at the outline, any of you can come up with any newspaper/ journal/ magazine articles, please e-mail the source to me, or copy and send directly to my PO Box (see below). To make this paper more effective, I needs great gobs of statistical data from all over the USA. Then I can prove my numbers reflect a population, which is very important. With your help, I can have this paper ready between Christmas and the first of the year; without it, well, maybe next summer. Within a few weeks, I'll make the bibliography available; but by that time I will have most of the paper fleshed out. I know I'm asking a lot, but if some of you could make inquires at your county, regional or state-level animal control office for animal bite statistics, it would be a tremendous help. Even if all I get are contact names and phone numbers, it would save me a great deal of time. Thank you all for the help I have recieved thus far. Bob Moose, Stella, Daye, Tori, and Bear. Bear says, "If you can't send clippings, please send raisins. Or tuna; the kind in water. Or (and don't tell Bob) chocolate, pepsi, or rubber erasers..." Bob Church PO Box 1988 Columbia MO 65205 [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1371]