A few people have suggested that MF should raise its prices in order to discourage impulse buys (or that we'd like to see MF raise its prices for that reason), and that it would be just fine if prices went up as a result of new tracking systems instituted by MF. I don't want to sound like a pessimist and make things unnecessarily complex, but it seems to me that if ferrets suddenly began to cost several hundred dollars instead of one or two hundred dollars, that might encourage more of the unethical sorts of backyard breeders to get into ferrets. I'm not entirely sure myself what my point is here, unless it's that it's important to remember that MF doesn't exist in a vaccuum. Inexpensive ferrets won't disappear just because MF stops producing them, and I know we'd all hate to see more Freedonias. I've been on this list for a couple of years now, and I know that MF topics come and go like the seasons here, but I think that this time things are a little different. I hope that if we can keep our collective cools, we will be able to open fresh dialogues with MF and take this opportunity to create new industry standards through the example of MF, with the health and well-being of the ferrets first and foremost. See, I'm not really a pessimist after all :) As a former union negotiator, I'm a big believer in rational discourse as a means of achieving your goals; in other words, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. So I hope that we can keep talking and make a real difference. Peace out, Regina, Cully and Amelia [Posted in FML issue 2005]