Message Number: SG8176 | New FHL Archives Search
From: "Roger Vaughn"
Date: 2004-03-07 02:04:21 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] RE: reactions to two shots
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <50542.192.168.132.39.1078625061.squirrel@mail.seaconinc.com>

> I think that in cases like this, that your vet can document the
> problems with vaccination and provide you with a letter waiving the
> vaccination protocol...

Yes, you can get out of getting the vaccinations, but I don't think a
vet's waiver will necessarily prevent the authorities from sacrificing
your ferret if he or she happens to bite someone who feels like
pressing the issue. In that case, as far as they're concerned, it's
still an unvaccinated animal.

It's just a tradeoff you have to make. I can respect your decision
not to vaccinate your reactive ferrets, just as I can respect Caity's
decision to painstakingly pretreat hers so they CAN be documented as
vaccinated. I do hope you never find yourself in a situation where
you have to defend your ferrets against the authorities, though.
Fortunately it doesn't happen often.

Hopefully someone will soon do the studies so we can get approval to
do the vaccinations - at least for rabies - every three years instead
of yearly, or at least prove what frequency ferrets need for adequate
protection.

We just had our first minor reaction to the rabies vacc recently, so
next year I'm just going to have to play it by ear and see how it
works out for us...

roger