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Research using ferrets
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Ferrets are energetic, curious, playful little animals. They love the company of humans and other ferrets, exploring, and getting into everything. Life with a ferret is never dull.
Ferrets have been working animals in the past, hunting rodents and rabbits. The modern ferret may also be a working animal, in a research laboratory. Ferrets are used to research canine distemper, spine injuries, reproduction, ulcers, viral diseases, and gastric infections (www.hsus.org/animals_in_research/ferret1.htm) Ferrets are particularly useful for testing anti-nausea drugs, as they do actually have nausea and vomiting similar to what humans experience. The Humane Society claims that while the lifespan of a domestic pet ferret may be as long as twelve years, the laboratory ferret typically lives only five or six. The Humane Society is also concerned because ferrets, being fairly intelligent and very active animals, generally don't get enough exercise or mental stimulation in laboratories.
Personally, I believe that laboratory research involving non-human animals should be very, very. rare. And I use the word 'rare' meaning 'I don't believe in it at all, but there is an exception to almost every rule, so 'rare' will cover that. I'm aware that there are decent people who interpret 'rare' more liberally. But can we at least agree that the laboratory ferret's non-working hours be under reasonable conditions for the species? Ferrets, when not downing anit-nausea drugs, should have socialization and a stimulating environment.
We need to think about just how badly we need to do animal experimentation - the vast majority of animal research is not about lifesaving cures for human diseases. I admit that mandating the additional effort and expense of decent working conditions for laboratory animals would have a side effect that I do support, making animal research so expensive and inconvenient that we really could believe animals are used only when there is no other way to get fairly important information.
