Prairie Dogs and Misc. African Rodents Banned for Good informs the FDA
Due to the Monkey Pox outbreak in late Spring 2003 it will no longer be legal to purchase or offer for sale or trade any Prairie Dogs or miscillanious african rodent species.
Ok, lets look at the facts here. You have Prairie dogs bound for the pet trade that are housed too close to an imported Gambian Pouched Rat that happened to be infected with Monkey Pox. The Prairie Dogs went to their new homes, many harboring the Monkey Pox virus. Well, you guys don't really need me to go into the details on who had what and when.... so lets go back to where the virus came from.
The Monkey Pox virus was brought into the country via a shipment of animals from Africa that was delivered to a broker in Texas. One of the infected animals found it's way into the hands of a Chicago area breeder/broker which infected his Prairie Dog livestock. By the end of this ordeal a few domestic rabbits had aquired the virus as well.
This brings us to the now.. which has the FDA and CDC now enacting a permanent ban on the sale of all Prairie Dogs and misc. African rodent species as well as the importation of these african rodents. Doesn't this seem a tid bit extreeme, all things considered? Why would you ban Prairie Dogs due to their ability to transmit Money Pox if expossed to it such as rabbits and other animals not covered by this ban if you are cutting off the source of possible infection by prohibiting the importation of african rodents capable of harboring this disease? Further more, why would the FDA ban Prairie Dogs but not the other KNOWN animals such as rabbits that are also known to be suseptable to this disease?
These are interesting questions. First of all, if you ban the importation of the animals that would be the only means of the Monkey Pox virus to enter the states then why would you need to ban on Prairie dogs, you wouldn't would you?
THE FDA and CDC have placed a permanent ban on various species of Exotic animals which includes the Prairie Dog. IT'S TIME TO FIGHT BACK. Join the fight with thousands of pet owners, breeders, brokers, pet feed dealers and other supporters with this online (click here) petition, White House Phone Campaign on March 22nd and 23rd and form letter which is available on this site for people to mail to their president. Remember that you have to involve your State Representatives as well to be effective in halting this ban.
*White House Form Letter for Friends and Family of Pet Owners (feel free to modify and customize it): Download Word Doc Here
