TORONTO STAR LETTER TO THE EDITOR; AUGUST 2, 2004 Nutty squirrel regulations Mississauga has a better chance of being hit by an asteroid than facing an outbreak of monkeypox Re: Fur flies over tiny squirrel, July 29 The northern flying squirrel adopted by Steve Patterson has about as much chance of spreading monkeypox to Canadians as Mississauga has of being wiped out by a falling asteroid. Baby prairie dogs were made the scapegoat when they were transported by a disreputable animal trader in a cage with African rodents infected with monkeypox disease. Proper quarantine rules and other regulations weren't followed and the animals were sold into the pet trade. There were 32 laboratory-confirmed cases in humans, with no deaths. The FDA/CDC in the United States immediately put a ban on the movement of prairie dogs and the other animals involved, which did not include any type of squirrel, pending further study. There hasn't been a single case of monkeypox reported since the last animal died over a year ago. It seems logical that if infected animals were loose in the population, there would be more monkeypox cases reported in humans. There have been none, but the FDA/CDC still refuse to lift the ban. The only way Sabrina, Patterson's squirrel, could possibly be infected with monkypox is if she came into direct contact with an infected animal. She was 10 weeks old when he got her, presumably from a licensed breeder in the United States. There is no way on Earth this small animal could be a threat to anyone. Bureaucratic blindness does not recognize logic, or even common sense. And it has no boundaries. Not even the Canadian border. Jean Williams, President Creating GreenPiece, Auburn, Wash.