Hello everyone,
 
It soon became very clear that the members of the Water, Parks and Wildlife
Committee had been pressured by the administration, and the Chairman of
this committee to not pass our ferret amnesty bill.  Members we thought
supportive, and who had been supportive in the past, made it clear that
they would not pass an amnesty bill without an Environmental Document being
produced first, and our bill was gutted completely to simply include money
for an environmental document (EIR) to study the ferret's potential to harm
the environment.  At this point, that means no amnesty for ferrets in
California.
 
Never mind that a study's already been done, never mind that no other
state has required such a study, or experienced such angst over ferrets.
California is, indeed, different and facts don't matter here, nor does
fairness, only politics.  At this point, I don't know if we will go forward
with this bill.  No other state has required an EIR before legalizing this
domesticated pet which is safer to people than a dog and safer to the
environment than a cat, and agreeing to an EIR may set a precedent that is
both dangerous and unwarranted.  It may be better in the long run to drop
this bill and start anew.
 
On the other hand, if we can secure a moratorium on enforcement during the
study it may be something worth considering.  We will not accept the use of
live ferrets as part of any study and will insist on a neutral 3rd party
conducting any such study should we decide it's in our interests to go
forward.  I know many of you will have questions but I'm afraid I won't
have any answers for you at this time so please don't waste your time and
mine and hold off with your e-mails for the time being.
 
If your Assemblymember is on this committee and you wish to respectfully
express your dissatisfaction with today's events that's fine, as long as
you do so politely.  Remember, the composition of this committee (the
members that sit on it) will not change for quite some time.  If you choose
to call or write, simply state that you are very disappointed with the vote
on this bill, that this issue has to do with one thing: the fact that a
domesticated pet which is safer to the environment and people than a dog or
cat and is legal in the rest of the country is in a wildlife list where it
does not belong.
 
DO NOT CALL ANYONE THAT DOES NOT REPRESENT YOU AND DO NOT BE RUDE OR
AGGRESSIVE!
 
This turn of events is very disheartening and I know that many of you wrote
to your representatives on this committee but I'm afraid that not enough
of you participated to offset the political pressure exerted by the
administration and other opponents.
 
To those Californians who did not write for one reason or another (too
little time, too afraid, etc.), this is your reality check.  You have
helped cost this issue one of it's best chances in years to move ahead as
an amnesty bill.  I know that many of the folks I'm addressing aren't on
this e-mail list but the message to all of you who only have observed and
not participated is the same: your lack of silence meant that your
representative listened to those opposed to this issue and not to you.
 
What a shame.
 
Jeanne Carley
Californians for Ferret Legalization
410 Mountain Home Rd.
Woodside, CA 94062
(650) 851-3750
www.ferretnews.org
[Posted in FML issue 3475]