I've been reading the various comments on the Ferrets USA editor's note for some time. I'd like to present my perspective (as someone who edits a magazine about ferrets). The editor of a magazine sets the tone of the magazine. Russ Case is both managing editor of Ferrets USA and Ferrets, so his opinions are going to reach a lot of people. The editor chooses the words. Everyone else who writes for a magazine has their words touched in some way by an editor. The editor basically answers to himself. So what does this editor say? Russ Case felt that the appropriate example of ferrets was to be taken from teething ferret kits pulled from a tub at one of the largest pet trade shows in the country. No mention of whether these kits were handled properly, fed recently (I've been to many pet trade shows and seen a lot of animals on display in poor housing without food or water), or just plain frightened by the noise & commontion (these shows draw thousands of people for several days). This was his choice as an example to introduce ferrets: "...I was not taken completely by surprise when the ferrets chomped on me." "...I inspected the two dangling ferrets I was lifting up out of the tub, still clenching my skin in their teeth." An untrained, hungry, teething, etc. baby ferret in a strange situation at a pet show is hardly representative of what people who love ferrets are in love with. To illustrate my point, imagine this as an editor's note from a horse magazine: "I don't know how to stand the odor of horses. They just stink - don't they bathe? And whenever I go into a barn - wow! - I just want to fall over from the stench. I hope I never have to live downwind from one of those!" I doubt that horse lovers would tolerate or support a magazine whose editor depicts horses like that. Even though horses and barns have a smell, it is not the sole component of why people are interested in horses. Yet Russ Case seems fascinated by being bitten by ferret kits (as if the opportunity to get bitten is the only reason people would want a ferret). Looking at the people writing for him, one sees a large number of people who are well known for their efforts to make the world a better place for ferrets (many of whom are frequent FML posters as well). One would think that some of the love for ferrets that these people have would have rubbed off on him - or at least he would realize that common ferret stereotype are not true. Melissa Durfee wrote: >Ferrets communicate with their teeth much more than other companion >animals and it's something people need to be aware of. Check out any of the ferret web sites devoted to ferret legalization and you will find all sorts of documentation of how much more frequently and severely people are bitten by dogs. Note: Ferrets are not treated like dogs. Dogs are responsible for killing and maiming a lot of people per year - yet hardly anyone ever suggests making them illegal. Based on the relative number of bites, I'd say that a lot more people have happy well-trained ferrets than happy well-trained dogs. Yet ferrets have all sorts of problems because they "have a bad reputation" - even without evidence to support such a statement. If the editor of a ferret magazine isn't going to act as a ferret advocate, then who is? Russ Case wasn't forced to write what he did - he's the editor - he wrote it BY CHOICE. If you get upset that Ann Landers can't say anything nice about ferrets, then you should be upset that an editor of two ferret publications can't either. Remember that if Ann Landers were seeking more information on ferrets she could just as easily ask Russ Case (or anyone else working at Fancy Publications) about them as she could ask the CA Fish & Game. What kind of answer would she receive from either? It is interesting to note that the Jan/Feb issue of Ferrets contains an apology to Jeanne Carley. In her article in Ferrets USA they "edited" her words "for clarity" to imply that she is a ferret owner. For a magazine based in California, you would hope they would have some sensitivity and a sense of responsibility towards ferret legalization issues. Instead Fancy Publications seems intent on the opposite - perhaps we can look forward to an educational article from the CA Fish and Game in a future issue? Remember, Fancy Publications is the same company that purposely altered a photo to depict a ferret hunting a chicken. Jerry Jackowski wrote: >It's funny, we get so offended when somebody even mentions the fact that >ferrets are something less than perfect. And we get really fired up when >they are classified as biters. My ferrets are not biters that latch on to people's hands (ask anyone who has met them). I don't present to people that ferrets are biters that latch on to people's hands. I think it is the responsibility of our magazine (Modern Ferret) to be pro-ferret and to help ferret owners take better care of and have more fun with their ferrets. I'm not saying that articles about nip training, litter training, rescue rehabilitation, etc. are bad - just that the representative ferret that should be presented is the one that is trained, etc. (that is, present the role model). Good owners working with their ferrets to have a happy coexistence as companions - that is the goal. The joy of ferrets is their unique spirit of fun and play and their warm-snuggliness. Representing ferret-kind with the actions of an untrained, probably stressed-out kit is inaccurate. Just as representing human-kind with the actions of a toddler would be inaccurate. A well cared for ferret kit or human baby both wind up being a lot more fun, interesting, capable, and better behaved as adults. And that is what editors of ferret magazines should be writing about. - Eric Modern Ferret Magazine - For ferret owners. By ferret owners. Mary & Eric Shefferman & the fuzzies: Sabrina, Marshmallow, Knuks, Trixie, Bosco da Gama, Balthazar, Cauliflower, and Koosh http://www.modernferret.com - - - - Eric Modern Ferret Magazine - For ferret owners. By ferret owners. Mary & Eric Shefferman & the fuzzies: Sabrina, Marshmallow, Knuks, Trixie, Bosco da Gama, Balthazar, Cauliflower, and Koosh http://www.modernferret.com [Posted in FML issue 2515]