From:
Linda Iroff
Date: 2005-08-09 17:18:05 UTC
Subject: *Call to Action!* USDA ferret specific regulations
To: Ferret Health List <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-id: <E12C9687-436D-4E0C-9BA5-4D638B2FB449@mac.com>
We're pleased to announce we have reached a major milestone in the
effort to get the USDA and APHIS (Animal Plant Health Inspection
Service) to adopt ferret specific regulations under the Animal
Welfare Act.
In March of 2004, several ferret organizations sent a petition to the
USDA requesting a revision in the requirements for housing and
transport for breeding farms, dealers and research institutions
already under USDA control. The proposed changes would not apply to
small breeders who sell privately; rather they would apply only to
farms who breed ferrets for wholesale, their distributors, and the
transport they use.
The USDA has accepted this petition, and has now requested public
input. They ask 3 main questions (condensed here):
1. Should specific standards be implemented for the welfare of
domestic ferrets? If yes, please explain what standards you believe
are needed.
2. What specific problems have dealers, exhibitors, or research
facilities had with the current handling, care, treatment, and
transportation standards and how would ferret-specific standards
eliminate them?
3. Should there be minimum age requirements for the transportation of
domestic ferrets, and, if so, what factors should be considered in
determining those requirements?
The deadline for responding is October 4, 2005. You may respond via
mail, email or on the USDA web site (via EDOCKET). It is URGENT that
the USDA get a strong response from the ferret community to move
forward with the development of new regulations!
For the full text of the request for input and how to respond, go to
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html
and click on Recent Documents. Scroll down to Animal Welfare;
Standards for Ferrets, Docket No. 04-088-1.
The IFC will be hosting information on the our web site, including
the Notice of Petition and Request for Comments; sample letters to
the USDA; and the transcript of Dr. Sandra Kudrak's presentation at
the 2005 International Ferret Symposium in St. Louis this spring. Dr.
Kudrak's talk provides an excellent overview of the very complex
multi-year process of creating new regulations, of where we are in
the process and what is yet to be done.
It will be several days before the IFC web site is updated, so please
be patient. But in the meantime, please think about what YOU will
write in your letter to the USDA, and how you will pass this urgent
need to the vets in your area and the other ferret groups that you
are part of. Input is needed from both individuals and organizations.
It was the wonderful efforts of members of the ferret community last
year urging the USDA to take action that got us this far. Let's keep
up the good work!
Remember, October 4, 2005 is the deadline to submit your letters!
More details will be posted later and on our web site in a few days.
Crossposting permitted and encouraged!
The International Ferret Congress
http://www.ferretcongress.org