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Jen M. Morrison
Alias: Ferret and Reptile Rescue Sanctuary
Gender: Female
Approximate Age: 43
Date of Birth: Jul 20, 1963 UT
Location: Layton, UT (US)

History
Convicted: Hoarding 267 ferrets
Sep 7, 2001 - Layton, UT (US)
Sentence: A 2nd District Court judge fined Morrison $500 and placed her
on probation.

Judge Michael Allphin ruled Morrison was in violation of five different
zoning and city ordinance laws by housing 261 ferrets at her Layton
condo.


The fight between Jen Morrison and those agencies confiscating her
animals ended Thursday when a 2nd District Court judge fined Morrison
$500 and placed her on probation.

Judge Michael Allphin Thursday ruled Morrison was in violation of five
different zoning and city ordinance laws by housing 261 ferrets at her
Layton condo at 1064 N. 1250 East.

The condo doubled as Morrison"s Ferret and Reptile Rescue Sanctuary, a
non-profit state-registered sanctuary established in 1985.

After neighbors had complained to authorities about the smell, Layton
City Police, the Division of Wildlife Resources and Davis County Animal
Care and Control officers on Sept. 7 2001 broke down the door of
Morrison"s condo, confiscating 261 of the 267 ferrets on the premises,
closing the sanctuary.

Morrison was able to keep six ferrets because of a Layton City
ordinance allowing six exotic pets per household.

Layton City prosecutor Kris Neal said Allphin suspended $3,750 in fines
against Morrison on the condition she pay $500 in fines and meet a
12-month probation.

The probation agreement includes no longer operating the sanctuary at
her condo and agreeing to allow animal control officers an inspection
of her place providing they give a four-hour notice, she said.

The agencies, however, did return to Morrison last week a pet tortoise
they confiscated. They were concerned it was a desert tortoise, which
appears on the federal endangered species list. Wildlife experts later
determined the tortoise was not a desert tortoise and therefore one of
the initial charges against Morrison was dropped.

Morrison views the reduced charges and the return of her tortoise as
evidence she had done nothing to deserve having the back door on her
home broken down. "They had nothing against me. It was really wrong
what they did," she said.

Neal said Morrison was initially charged with eight Class B
misdemeanors, but went on trial on six amended infractions. She was
found guilty of five of them.

The infractions against Morrison were household pet violations, zoning
district violations, no city-issued business license, maintaining
nuisance animals, and having no county animal control permit.

The judge found Morrison not guilty of a rabies vaccination violation.

Morrison claims the only reason she was fined was so the state, county
and city could recoup some of its cost in confiscating her animals.

Animal Care and Control Director De Anne Hess referred to Morrison as
"a collector." "It was a dwelling intended for people, not 261
ferrets," she said.

After they were confiscated, the ferrets were held at the county animal
shelter for several days until they could be farmed out to licensed
out-of-state animal sanctuaries.

Although she did not have a city business license, Morrison said her
sanctuary is a state-registered non-profit organization. She said since
September she has not been housing the animals but has been using the
sanctuary to make referrals on where people can take unwanted ferrets.

Neal said the city believes Morrison cares for animals, particularly
ferrets, and believes she felt she was doing something good. "But
the volume is not something that one woman can handle," she said.

The conditions of Morrison"s condo, Neal said, threatened the
building"s sanitation. Neal said she is pleased to see the judge
held Morrison responsible in ensuring it doesn"t happen again.

"The city doesn"t believe she is a bad person," Neal said.

References
Standard-Examiner - April 12, 2002
Standard-Examiner - Oct 10, 2001

http://www.standard.net/live
Pet Abuse.Com
http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/10053/UT/US/

Petfinder.com

If you click on both links they are one in the same

Ferret and Reptile Rescue Sanctuary
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/ferretreptile.html
Utah Critter Sanctuary Ferret-Parrot Rescue Shelter Inc. Happy Tails
Adopted Pets List! ... We started out 36 years ago as a reptile
sanctuary then added the birds and later the ferrets

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/UT22.html

[Posted in FML 5460]