From:
fhbythesea@aol.com
Date: 2002-01-18 04:36:00 UTC
Subject: Is this Waardenburg?
To the readers of this list:
I found a breeder who is promoting 'bobtail' kits - in fact their hob threw
100 kits last year and the bobtail remained true to the litters....my
research on Waardenburg shows that the primary symptoms of the genetic
disease are the white blotches and deafness (the hob is a panda) but also
includes osteoarthritis, neural tube defects, gastrointestinal disorders,
limb defects, etc. I believe that because the hob is a panda color and also
has the bob tail that this ferret has Waardenburg syndrome.
This concerns me greatly. As both a shelter and long time enthusiast, I hate
to see these types of defects perpetuated in the breed. What would you say to
a person who is knowingly breeding ferrets with this significant genetic
fault? My research has shown that it is known to be a dominant trait and its
horrifying to me to know that someone is breeding in a large enough capacity
(300-500 ferrets in the facility) without fully understanding the
consequences of indiscriminate breeding. Comments?
Lisa Leidig, Head Ferret
The Ferret Haven "By-the-Sea"
www.ferrethaven.org
Attachment 37k (image/jpeg) BOBTAIL.JPG