>I live in South Whitehall Township, near Allentown, Pa.  You can all
>imagine my horror when I read a local news article that states that my
>Township's commissioners have agreed to amend an ordinance that makes it
>illegal to own exotic and wild animals in the township.  They listed many
>animals that include potbellied pigs, constricting snakes, hedgehogs, and
>yes, ferrets.  I really need some advice from fellow FMLers on how to
>proceed with this
 
When a town tried something a bit similar here a lawyer who loves ferrets
(since retired and not licensed for your state) donated time to go to
court.
 
The ancient art sites provided pictures which showed pet ferrets from the
past (to establish the pet history) with the Leonardo painting, the one
with Elizabeth I, etc.
 
>****Could someone here who has the current addies for some of these
>sites post them, PLEASE!*****
 
Bob Church's write-up at http://www.ferretcentral/org was useful and i
expect that his article in the current issue of "Modern Ferret" would
also be.
 
The BIG kicker was that the lawyer on the side of the ferrets was able
produce a supporting witness list which included officials form the state
Dept. of Public Health and the state dept. of Fish, Game and Wildlife
which provides the permits for ferrets in NJ.  Having the heavy hitters
on the side of the ferrets caused the town to totally drop it's side and
it was won that way -- which saved a lot of time and cost.  Anne R. And
Paul S. if they see this may recall more details about what was done then
that worked; it was a shared effort so we don't all know about all of each
others' work.
 
You may well want to contact state ferret groups and the two large farm
breeders there (Path Valley and Triple F) to see about a case that allows
individuals to keep their names out of it, if possible.  Meanwhile, also
see what is grand-fathered in for now.  If you can get statements from
heavy-hitters who will be recognized outside the ferret-community you can
also use the media as a helpful avenue, but do NOT allow folks to be at
all nasty or boring in such attempts or they will backfire big-time.
[Posted in FML issue 3568]