Where do I begin.........1st, let me say I'm a long time FML member and
many of you know me - have been sheltering ferrets since '96 - I'm not
a newbie, but I have posted as Annon for obvious reasons.
 
I know others have already gone down this road and I'd prefer not to
re-invent the wheel.......(Especially since Suki's ferrets seem to have
the wheel thing down pretty good already, lol).
 
I have a ferret shelter.  I have been "underground" for years since I
moved to this state.  There are 2 shelters in our county - and there's
kind of an unspoken agreement between us and the director of Animal
Control to keep a low profile & they leave us alone......still, I never
really feel "safe".
 
The Ordinances here classify ferrets as Wildlife.  They use the terms
European Polecat and Ferret synonoymously in the Ordinance do cuments
and I have heard the director of AC on the radio once say "The ferret
is a European Polecat but nobody wants a European Polecat, when you
say Ferret, it sounds cute and people want ferets"
 
They do allow ferrets, but require a $100 per ferret non-transferable
license.  So I'd have to license any ferret who came into the shelter &
then the adoptive family would have to license them again if I were to be
within the law.  None of these fees fo to anything to benefit ferrets.
Rabies & Distemper vaccines are required which, I agree with.  There is a
decent population of ferets in the city, I'd be surprised if 2% of them
were licensed though.
 
The Ordinance defines Domestic Animal as: "Any animal whose physiology
has been determined or manupulated through selective breeding and does
not occur naturally in the wild, and any animal which may be vaccinated
against rabies with an approved rabies vaccine, and any animal which has
an established rabies quarantine observation period."
 
Hmmm......this fits a ferret........but I don't think this fits a
European Polecat - so using these terms sysonymously is a problem.
 
Any ferrets brought into Animal Control are automatically euthanized - no
adoptions through them.
 
I have also heard the director of AC say on the radio that there are
statistically a disproportionate number of serious bites to infants &
young children by fer rets.
 
I feel like the ordinance is based on outdated beliefs and
misunderstandings.  What I would like to be able to do is to approach
the county in a professional ma nner with FACTS in hand - including
studies (reported bites, instances of rabies , "feral colonies") and
scientific data as to the difference between the Europea n Polecat and
the Domestic Ferret.
 
I have to say, I'm almost thankful for the license fee - it prevents
the situation where every other pet store sells ferrets at $89 with no
education to the owner.  To be blunt, in this state, we have a lot of
uneducated people and this is reflected in a lot of our rescues &
surrenders.  We don't need to make it easier to get ferrets.  I would,
however, like to have the requirement waived for shelters.....Hmmm, lets
see, I can license 10 ferrets or I could have $1000 towards medical
bills.......not a hard call.
 
What I would like to do is:
- get ferrets re-classified as domestic.
- Get a waiver of license to shelter ferets while at the shelter
- stop the automatic euthanization of ferrets taken in at AC
 
What I do NOT want to do is:
- risk the ferrets that we have in our shelters.
 
Could any of you, who have already taken on this task, please share some
of your information with me - how you approached the local government,
where I can get FACTS as opposed to "widely accepted beliefs".  Locations
of studies to be cited , etc.
 
Polecat -vs- Ferret scientific data, and documentation of the lack of
existance of "wild" ferrets (other than black-footed)etc.  Even what
problems you encountered & how it turned out in the end.  Or, in your
experience, am I better to leave it as is?  I can't imagine allowing all
these ferrets to continue to be eutha nized through AC though.
 
Thanks All - I appreciate your time.
 
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[Posted in FML issue 4412]