Subject: Research on Ferrets Hi FMLer's, I was wondering if anyone has ever contacted the laboratories where research is done on ferrets for humans. In their testing wouldn't you think that the laboratories run into the same health problems as we do with our pet ferrets. What conclusions have they come up with regarding MF, early cancers etc.. I would think it would be impossible to infect a ferret with something for testing when it had signs of adrenal disease etc.. Just a thought. My vet posed an interesting question; maybe MF intentionally uses stock that has a shorter life span to accomodate the laboratories, when doing testing/research I think the animal needs to die a natural death for accurate results of their research/testing. I was just wondering if we could benefit from all the years of research done on ferrets from these laboratories. I have 3 MF babies I wouldn't trade for the world, and I thank MF for them. Jill Owned by Rupert, Fiona & EB In fact, most of the vets who blazed the trail of ferret medicine did so because they were the resident vets at a lab animal facility. MF Doesn't breed for short life spans, they breed for mass production, just like any other business, egg laying hens, the meat on your dinner table, etc. The diseases come from genetic diversity in a large scale outbred breeding facility. If anything, they will give the labs the better animals, they require good health, reproducable data, lack of variables. Pet stores don't care, and most purchasers don't know. If you want quality, it's just like any other pet, find the small scale home breeder who will be reccommended by the local veterinarian. [Posted in FML issue 2001]