The attached letter was sent on Saturday to Governor Engler. We were especially impressed to read of the disussion with Ms. Burns in Friday's FML. That added a new twist to our message - that Michigan animal control officers and the court were following a flawed policy that would definitely be changed soon, but not soon enough to save Kodo, which was thus his responsibility. >The Honorable Governor, John Engler > >In the light of known information, the likelihood of Kodo the ferret having >contracted rabies from a bat is effectively nil. Moreover, the likelihood >that, if so infected, he would still be alive and healthy is also nil. We >refer you to Senator Dingell=92s resolution for an excellent summation. > >If equally applied to all household pets, the present policy in Michigan >would mean automatic seizure and killing of any dog or cat whose tooth broke >the skin of any human being, whether or not that animal had been properly >vaccinated for rabies. Since that is not being done, the seizure and >euthanasia of Kodo and the hundreds of Michigan ferrets before him, is an >arbitrary and discriminatory policy. > >Interspecies rabies transmittal to domestic pets is almost unheard of. On >the rare occasion, it has been from interaction outside the home. Dogs and >cats are far more likely to outside of the home than ferrets. Ferret owners >don't put them out for the night like cats or walk them twice a day like >dogs. Moreover ferrets are unable to subsist on their own outside of a >home. There are feral dogs and cats roaming city streets, but no feral >ferrets. Therefore dogs and cats are far more likely to contract rabies >from a rabid bat than any ferret, and there have been no such reports in >Michigan. > >It is not up to the individual animal control officer, or even the court, to >go against the established ferret seizure and kill policy. It is the policy >that must be changed, and you know, from all the pressure being brought to >bear on this case, that it will be. Only a higher authority can intervene >until that policy is changed and that is your responsibility. It is the >right thing to do. It will be also be the popular thing to do. It will >also be a relief to the animal control officer that did her duty in spite of >her feelings. > >Respectfully, > > Mary and Joel Cohen > > Cc: Bay City Times > Senator Dingell [Posted in FML issue 1960]