In my never-ending quest to own a copy of every ferret reference in existence, I have just purchased a copy of Karen Dale Dustman and Renee Stockdale 1998 "Ferrets: For Today's Pet Owner," published by the same people who bring you the various "Ferrets" publications. This is NOT to be confused with Modern Ferret, which is published by Mary and Eric, owned by a handful of very inquistive and sweet carpet monkeys (and one very ill one, poor fella). Those who have read this list for some time will know that I have traditionally refused to review any of the current ferret books on the market. I do this for several reasons; its hard for most ferret people to write to scientific standards, I personally expect more (which isn't fair to other people), and anything positive is a good thing even if some of the details are off. I am breaking that tradition with this post, because of a single glaring mistake that as a ferret lover I cannot look past. Inside this newly-printed book is a picture of a ferret stalking a chicken, with a caption stating ferrets have traditionally been involved in hunting rats and rabbits. Between the caption and the photo, you get the distinct impression that the ferret is hunting the chicken. While this may or may not be true with wild mustelids, I know of *NO* instance where ferrets have *ever* been used to hunt birds, anc certainly no the the USA. But now, there is a photo published in a ferret book of such an event. Can you imagine the damage it can do to the legalization efforts in CaCa Land? I can just see the wonderful lady Jeanne Carley telling legislators that ferrets are not a serious threat to native birds or commercial poultry interests, with the Fishing Gestapo walking behind, passing out photocopies of the picture and telling people it came from a ferret-friendly book. I'll bet my bacula it will be used against the ferret legalization efforts in some type of capacity. In a search of my extensive ferret-related database (the references start with Aristophanes and have just recently included this volume, with perhaps 5000 papers and books in between, written in more than 10 languages), not once is it mentioned that ferrets are used to hunt domestic chickens. In fact, I find zero references in which ferrets have ever been used to hunt any type of bird, much less a chicken. Since the references detail the hunting of rabbits and small rodents in great detail, it is clear that from the omission of birds from the list that ferrets are not used to hunt our avian friends. I would love to urge each member of the FML to voice their displeasure by not buying the book, by writing the publisher and telling them in no uncertain terms that you will not buy the book and why, by sending letters to the editors of Modern Ferret and Ferrets complaining about the picture being in the book, publishing this info in club and shelter newsletters, and by informing your local bookstores about the problem and request they not stock the book, but I cannot ethically do that. I am a firm believer in freedom of speech, and do not advocate book boycott in any form. You cannot have an open and honest debate of the issues without the opposition having the same rights as you to voice their opinion. If I had a choice between eliminating a single book--for ANY reason--or walk behind it and struggle to overcome problems resulting from misinformation, I would choose the later without hesitation. You have to do what you think is right, by your own standards of ethics and accountability. But what I will do is break my tradition of not evaluating ferret books by publically stating that there are a lot of books about ferrets in the marketplace, and none of them have a ferret-stalking-a-chicken photo included for our entertainment. I would buy ALL of those books first before I spent money on this one. This is not just because of the photo; yes, it is offensive, but rather, its about the trustworthiness of the information the author or publisher puts out on display. This photo shows me that either the publisher didn't care to know the current issues or historical facts about ferrets, or the author didn't. If you see that sort of misinformation being incorporated into a book that ferret novices will read--and interpret as gospel--then you have to wonder if ANY of their information is correct. Some might point out that it might seem two-faced to blast a book showing chicken hunting and not mention books that say ferrets were domesticated by the Egyptians. Well, in the first case, the picture can easily become a focus of bad PR. In the later case, it is just a myth lacking believable evidence, BUT IT DOSN'T HURT US! It is a myth, but it is harmless. The picture (with caption) is likewise a myth, but it can do horrible damage to legalization efforts across America. As I said in the beginning, I don't evaluate ferret books because anything positive helps us all. But the inclusion of a photo showing a ferret stalking a chicken has the potiential to harm all of us, especially those in CaCa Land. For that reason, for my mistrust of the remainder of the publication because of a demonstrated lack of understanding about the nature of working ferrets, and for the authors' and publisher's inability to understand the current ferret issues, I cannot recommend this book. I give it both thumbs down. Bob C and 20 MO Chickivores.....Not [Posted in FML issue 2321]