It has happened again. On Sunday, November 17, 1996, a 14 month old child entered a pet store here in NJ with it's mother. The child was either allowed by the mother or the mother did not adequately supervise the child (I'm not sure which is the case right now) and the child put a finger into a cage holding two 9-10 week old kits. These kits came from a small local breeder who asserts that both parents of the kits were vaccinated against rabies. Due to their age, the kits had not been vaccinated. One of the kits aalegedly nipped the child. There were no eyewitnesses, so it is unknown if the child was actually nipped or scratched. The childs mother at first agreed to a ten day quarantine, and the local health department official, John Van Eis, told me "I will abide with whatever the parents and child's doctor decide". The law in NJ is very vague about whether rabies testing or quaratine should be enforced. Also, this incident took place in Hunterdon County, a very progressive area, animal wise, who recently reclassified llama's as livestock from exotic. After the child was seen by her pediatrician, the pediatrician apparently has the parents bent over with worry. They are now asking for rabies testing. I spoke at length with the pet store owners, who are welcoming any help from the ferret community that they can get. This is a small independantly run store, and the owners seem very concerned over the plight of these ferrets, not for the almighty dollar, but out of true caring. I got the name of the pediatrician attending the child, and called both Dr. Bruce WIlliams and Dr. Freddiann Hoffman for thier help. I feel that if the Pediatrician involved gets the facts from his peers, we might be able to see a happy ending here. The mother still seems to think a quaratine is suitable, the father seems to be the one that the Pediatrician is getting to. (Drs. Williams and Hoffman- thank you for all of your help.) I will know in the morning what has come of all of this. Hopefully all will have been resolved. I have also given the pet store owners other solutions- including a "California Fire Drill"- you can all read between the lines as to what I am refering to here. In the mean time- We may need some letter writing help. I will try to pass the word on as quickly as I learn anything via private e-mail, and a post to the FML. -Anne Ryan President Ferret Enthusiasts for Education and Legislation [Posted in FML issue 1760]