Dear Rebecca Cory, and to others who may care to look in depth to the reasons why Marshall Farm's ferrets seem to be unusually prone to cancer and reduced longevity: Is it possible that one of the great ferret organizations could form a group of dedicated volunteer ferreters to organize a friendly investigation into the mass production of ferrets, their breeding practices, their assembly line methodology of neutering, spaying, and descenting 4 to 6 week kits at the site of Marshall Farms Ferret Factory in upper New York State? My current understanding is that 70 percent of MF ferts will develop lethal cancers within the first 4 years of life. This factoid was presented in a paper at the American Veterinarian Symposium held, as best I can remember, in Miami Florida, several years ago. Currently, I am trying to run down this paper in the Veterinary Medical Journals as well as faxing the originator of the information locally from a vet who attended the conference and to whom the factiod has been attributed. Dear Rebecca Cory: if you would, could you please tell us the name and address of your ferret vet who spoke affirmatively about MF ferrets. I should like to get in touch with him and learn his sources of data. My information has it that half of the ferrets bred at MF are dedicated pet trade animals. The other half, that 50 percentile, is dedicated to animal testing labs, universities and such. Previous complaints to MF by friends of this person, who complained to MF of the their practices, was responded by the affirmation that all MF ferrets would henceforth go to the animal testing labs, and that no more pet ferrets would be allocated to the pet store market, if, in fact, further complaints were received. Here in Seattle, at the prestigous University of Washington, I have learned that ferrets are "used" for at least two functions: 1) Nurses in training learn how to insert tracheal tubes into the throats of ferrets, since the structure of the ferret's throat is similar to that of a human infant. The dispostion of these "used" ferrets is confidential information and was not divulged to me. 2) The excised hearts of living ferrets are sustained "living" for the purposes of studying the effects of various "experimental drugs" on living ferret heart tissue. Is it too long a stretch to conclude that the ferrets that survive the nurses attention could possibly have their living hearts cut out for the drug tests? The time is overdue, it seems to me, for the confusion and bickering about MF ferrets to be concluded by the formation of an investigatory group, under the auspices of the American Ferret Association and/or other well recognized formal ferret associations, perhaps in concert with each other, for the investigatory group to determine the facts relevant to the treatment of ferrets, first in New York State and then nationwide. I, for one, do volunteer my time and talent to become an active member of such an investigatory body that would hold the sanction of the association(s). How about you, dear reader? From the land of "Frettchenvergnuegen" this challenge is issued by the undersigned. Aller Anfang ist schwer ! [Posted in FML issue 2101]