We'll soon be photostating the latest stuff in for the various people and organizations which get copies and sending those out, so folks who have the first batch of letters who feel like refreshing my memory about their snail mail addresses would save me a few minutes work. Having gotten no replies from some states yet, Diane Rogers and I have been touching base in multiple ways and with other people who might be involved in the decisions. Only negative so far was CA (and there were some nebulous things we have been working on -- HI still to go on that score) but CA MIGHT now go with the Compendium once the studies all appear in refereed journals. (Of course, ferrets will still be illegal there, but safer, and maybe with one objection removed.) Right now there's about an 80% hit rate IF you include the handful with long procedures to follow before they also follow the Compendium -- so don't automatically that non-enclosure here means the Compendium is being followed though it is likely to be at least on a state level -- also, some states have renegade local departments which aren't following the Compendium.) Right now I am waiting for replies to phone calls and or e-mails froma number of states including (but not limited to): Nevada (Dr. Bosomworth), New Mexico (Dr. Edith Umland), Oklahoma (Dr. Burke Healy), and Oregon (Dr. Emilio DeBess). The reason I have put these states down here for you to see is that they are among those locales which have not replied. Have new addresses and phone numbers to try (but it got too late) for: Delaware, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Tennessee from which we also have not heard. NEED YOUR HELP for finding further addresses (and phone numbers and names of your state vets) for: Mississippi, the North Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tonight I have spoken with Dr. Robert Mead the State Vet of Washington, located at their Dept. of Agriculture, 1-360-902-1878. He said that Washington IS following the '98 Compendium. The local departments are autonomous, but are NOT inclined to kill anything except bats because Washington does not have terrestrial rabies (though it lost two people to bat rabies last year -- one to silver and one to brown). Also spoke with the Assistant State Veterinarian (but we had to be very quick so I didn't write down his name as he talked -- just noted it was a common R last name so don't know if it was Roberts or Rogers or...) at 1-801-538-7160. Utah IS following the '98 Compendium and he expected NO problems with local departments. I'm tired. Diane Rogers laughed about my reluctant exposure to all this assorted state beaurocracy by telling me that I am no longer a virgin. She works for Social Security Administration. That's what we used to say about people when they'd had their first serious primate bite. Sigh... Sukie [Posted in FML issue 2217]