Is Marshall Farms the *only* large producer of ferrets for various markets? Are they the *only* producer large or small that seems to produce a large number of "problem" ferrets? What about all the ferrets from Marshall Farms that are owned by people who are not a part of ferret clubs and lists...do we know how many of them remain healthy for whatever period of time? I agree that if Marshall Farms ferrets have so many problems that some group should *objectively* look into what they're doing. As for selling animals (including ferrets) for research....I have mixed feelings, but the fact is that while I believe for most things there are ways to do most of the training for things without the use of a live being, you can't get the feel of how to handle a human baby from a model. If it comes right down to it, when I have a baby, and the baby needs medical help, I would hope that the nurse and doctor that I get in the ER has had at least *some* experience at least handling a live being. There is give and take, and while I agree that some research on animals is unnecessary and some research animals are kept in deplorable conditions, many are not, and someday your life may depend on a drug that our fuzzy friends in research labs helped a company develop. I would rather that Marshall Farms sell to researchers than have the pet fuzzies that are taken from responsible owners every day by unfair laws and people be shipped off. K:) off my soap box now On another note, Rocky is becoming more of a problem, he actually bit *me* today when Rosa came running to me and I bent down to pick her up. (Didn't break the skin, but it *hurt*) Guess I'll just not be able to let them run around the house together at all. He is such a dear otherwise! Sue the chewed Rosa the terrified Rocky the caged [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 2102]