Just a note about working with the city councils that insist, from time
to time, on paying attention to our ferrets' legal status.  We are the
only ferret shelter in the Kansas City area and we have a good working
relationship with several of the almost 50 departments of animal control
in the metro area (some of these are a single officer who works part
time).  Many of them, including the Kansas City, MO animal shelter, let
us know when they have ferrets and then surrender them to us.  Some also
place ferrets for adoption.
 
Recently an emplyee of the city health department decided that ferrets
needed to be licensed, just like cats and dogs.  Although I testified
before the council (they know me well) about the CDC doccumentation
regarding ferrets and rabies, etc. the council decided to add ferrets
to the existant cat and dog licensing ordinance that requires rabies
vaccination (but not neuter or spay) and limits the total number of
ferrets that may live in a single household.
 
We may have up to 4 ferrets in addition to 4 cats and/or dogs.  License
fees are $7 for ferrets that have been neutered or spayed, more for those
that are intact.  People who currently have more than 4 ferrets are
allowed to keep them but may not replace ferrets that die until their
total number is down to 4.  I have not seen this "grandfather" clause in
writing and have voiced concern about the status of the shelter as we
often have 40-50 ferrets here.  Council members have basically patted me
on the head and told me not to worry about it, but frankly, I think that
we were better off before our ferrets had any legal status at all.  There
are no state licensing options.
 
The long and short of it is that our ferrets have become a source of
concern, and revenue, for the city of Kansas City, MO.  Although we have
never paid the city shelter for ferrets they surrender to us we recently
received notice that a significant "rescue" fee will now be charged.  If
they insist on collecting such a fee from us it amounts to nothing less
than ransom as ferrets we do not claim will surely be euthanized.
 
I guess that my advise to shelters is lie low and do your job as well as
possible without raising a lot of sand.  This is not to say that we reject
opportunities for TV, radio, or newspaper coverage.  We do a segment or an
article about once a year.  But seeking legal status for your ferrets is
not always a good thing.  The CDC compendium guidelines regarding ferret
bite have been adopted by most political agencies and ferrets are not as
widely euthanized for testing as they were in the past.  Ferrets are
usually not euthanized here unless some fool, including certain agency
administrative idiots, get pissed off beyond reason about a biting ferret.
This cruel and unreasonable attitude is not going to be changed by an
ordinance or law.
 
Bobbi McC., KC Ferret Hotline Association and Shelter
[Posted in FML issue 3559]