Ferret Footnotes
Ferret Lovers Club of Texas
Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter
April 1996
WELCOME!

Greetings from The Ferret Lover's Club of Texas
Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter

The DFW Chapter of the Ferret Lover's Club of Texas (FLC) is dedicating to reviving FLC activities and membership. We have had a few organizational meetings so far, and have tried to obtain names of interested ferret people. If you know of someone who would be interested in being added to our roster, please let us know!

Mission: The club has several missions: (1) information dissemination to the public, officials, and potential ferret owners at pet stores, feed stores, veterinary clinics, and other sites; (2) working toward legalization of ferrets in specific cities and townships in Tarrant and Dallas counties as well as the state of Texas; (3) support of ferret shelters; (4) availability of ferret "fun matches" and shows, and (5) provision of an educational, informational, and social environment for ferret owners to exchange information about ferret ownership, health care, and other issues.



At the April Meeting:

The April meeting was really held during the final Sunday of March, due to the Easter Holiday.
Ferret Lover's Club of Texas - Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter: The group in attendance decided to be part of the Ferret Lover's Club of Texas. At this time, the group will be the Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter. Eventually, the group would like to assume responsibility for the "directorship" of all Texas Chapters--to serve as a home base. Home base responsibilities include maintenance of the informational web page and mailing list, newsletters, shows, etc. At such a time when "critical mass" is achieved in membership, separate meetings will be held for the Fort Worth/Tarrant County members and the Dallas County members, for ease of travelling.

Other Affiliations: By virtue of becoming part of FLC, we assume an affiliation with L.I.F.E (League of Independent Ferret Enthusiasts), a national organization. We also wish to be listed in the S.T.A.R (Shelters That Adopt and Rescue Ferrets) database. We are also applying to be the Texas resource center for L.O.S. (Legion of Superferrets), which currently does not have a state representative.

Activities: We viewed the first half of the "Ferrets Unmasked Video." The video is long, but informative and useful to a new or potential ferret owner.

Business: Debra Thomason presented information about rabies and the Texas Dept. of Health (see detailed article). We discussed ferret shows, reviewed Ed Bullard's brochure (tabled until it can be combined with an existing FLC brochure), and discussed organizational structure. Officer elections and decisions on dues were tabled until the next meeting.

TX DEPT of HEALTH - RABIES LAW CHANGE - April 25-26

Debra Thomason is working toward getting the upcoming rabies law changes to be "ferret friendly." Due to the current Texas rabies epidemic, the Department of Health will be changing rabies policies and laws. We would like to take advantage of these changes to propose ferrets getting recognition for their rabies vaccinations, and providing ferrets with the potential safety of a quarantine period.
Debra and Scott Thomason have written a proposal to amend the Rabies eradication rules in Chapter 169, Zoonosis and control. In summary:

1. Ferrets (Mustela Furo) are recognized as domestic animals.
2. Observation following a bite incident is 30 days (it is 10 days for dogs and cats).
3. Quarantine facilities should be indoor and temperature controlled (currently no provisions for this)
4. Food and water should be provided with 24-hour access in quarantine (currently dogs and cats are offered food once or twice daily)
5. USDA-Licensed rabies vaccines are recognized (e.g., IMRAB 3), and ferrets are to be vaccinated at three months and annually thereafter. (Currently, approved vaccines for dogs and cats have a 3-year duration, but IMRAB-3 has not been tested for the 3-year duration in ferrets.)

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