There are two things I'd like to comment on. First, there are
apparently still people who don't understand the California Agricul-
tural Border Inspection stations. Essentially, they were created to
protect California agriculture from imported agricultural pests. As
with all good ideas, many illogical things have occurred over the years.
Ignoring the confusing debate over the law enforcement powers of the
agricultural officers/inspectors, we'll focus on two issues: thoroughness
of inspection and fish & game regs enforcement.
 
        The thoroughness of inspection varied depending on the inspector,
the amount of silliness recently endured from headquarters/capital fools,
the volume of traffic at the station, and the quality of supervisor on
duty. Fortunately for ferret-smugglers (no offence intended), most of the
inspectors are bored, poorly trained, and/or lazy. The "bosses" in
Sacramento (Calif's capital and CDFA headquarters) usually lower
morale and efficiency rather than promote them, a further bonus for
ferret-smugglers. During rush periods, inspections are usually more
cursory if they occur at all, and most of the supervisors are worse than
useless. I worked for CDFA as a quarantine inspector, I quit in disgust
at the waste of dollars for a bad system. Keep in mind, there are a few
inspectors who are diligent, observant, and rigorous in their inspections.
I personally nabbed many things which would have slipped by my peers.
And yes, CO2 is used to kill small animals, not CO. Fortunately, I never
had to deal with ferret confiscations. Lucky.
 
                Fish and game regulations are usually poorly understood by
the inspectors, being as they are Food and Ag inspectors. Sometimes,
usually during hunting season, F&G officers would work out of the stations
too; generally, they don't. Unfortunately, ignorant inspectors usually
overly enforce animal regs: one inspector tried to confiscate a python
on the grounds it was a poisonous reptile...I'm serious! F&G regs are
enforced by the stations as an interdepartmental "favor," and two
animals are specifically brought to the attention on ALL new inspectors:
gerbils and ferrets.
 
        So, err on the side of safety for your fuzzies! If you MUST enter
California with your ferret(s), avoid the stations or hide them well.
 
        The second issue I'd like to comment on is the overenthusiastic
proselytizing regarding ferrets as pets. First, realize I keep numerous
odd animals, from tropical insects to snakes, as well as normals (cats,
ferrets, rodents). However, ferrets are NOT perfect pets. No animal is.
While I wholeheartedly endorse and support education and legalization
programs, and do my small part in the classroom, I disagree with those
arguing for more ferret owners. We hear of the people who buy a ferret,
take poor care of it, abuse it, etc. while some of our vocal peers
seem intent on convincing MORE people to obtain ferrets! Most dog owners
are at best mediocre "masters," and dogs are less of a problem than a
ferret or two or five to keep!
 
        Yes, educate people. Show them how sweet the little bandits can
be, how safe they are, and how stupid laws against them are. But please
don't try to convince more people to keep them. I usually stress how
much expense, work and problem they can be to prospective owners, just
as I do when asked about keeping snakes, iguanas, etc.
 
        For those wishing to debate my views, please e-mail directly to
me...save FML space. Thank you. EPFlemyng, [log in to unmask]
 
[Posted in FML issue 0832]