>Jeb, I am *thrilled* to read your very informative responses.
>Where have you been all this time?  I have been getting bits and
>pieces of this from all over the place (Gary, Bryk, gossip,
>Compu$erve, and, yes, even the NY Post!) and I must say that it
>is great to finally hear from someone who is intimately involved
>with it.  Pity you didn't mention your affiliation on your first
>posting - it would have saved me a great deal of confusion.
 
Sorry, it didn't occur to me to list credentials.  As for where
I've been, Japan, Russia, Portland, OR <g>.
 
 
>In view of your involvement in this, I don't have much to
>comment on - clearly you are more informed about this that I am.
 
>I do have a couple of questions though - feel free to answer to
>the list or directly, if you feel that is more appropriate.
 
Aw, what the heck, you took the time, I sure should <g>.
 
 
>Is it legal for the city to do any of this?  If it is an
>administrative ruling, can people get thrown in jail by the
>DoH?...
 
Well that's exactly part of the problem.  We don't think it's
legal.  It turns out the person who is the "enforcer" currently
has assault charges pending for one of his DoH forays into
protecting the public welfare.  There's some interesting
Constitutional issues that may come in to play if the case does,
in fact, enter a trial phase.
 
 
>But, again, isn't the $130,000 the fine for refusing to turn
>over Boo-Boo, not the fine for lack of a license?
 
Nope, the City is fining the young man $1,000/day for each day he
did not have a license/an unlicensed ferret.  Catch-22:  you
can't apply for a license but if you don't have one you can be
fined.
 
 
>I always thought, perhaps foolishly, that the best way to get
>ferrets legal in NYC is to point out to the city that it can
>require people to have ferret licenses for, say, $20/year.  It
>would bring in LOTS of money, and the city would soon forget all
>about them being dangerous since they are a lot more interested
in money than in health, in my opinion.  (Not that health is an
>issue anyhow, of course).
 
A good point and one I wouldn't have a problem supporting.
Unfortunately by the time I was asked to become involved the
wheels of justice were turning.
 
 
>Yes, I posted the NY Post article to the list back in April.
 
Ah... then you saw me quoted in the follow-up article.  A life-
long ambition, misquoted in the NY post.
 
 
>Well, to be fair, I think it's been more than 3 other people...
>I would have been glad to give more had someone asked and shown
>an accounting of what the money was being spent on.
 
Fair enough, consider yourself asked <g>.  Give Gary a call and
he and the attorney can supply you with an accounting.  But, to
be honest, we've been writing some mighty big checks.  So to
anyone I may have slighted whose contributions I may have
overlooked, I apologize sincerely and hope you'll continue to
pitch in.  Gary's sent out so many letters we can't begin to
count.
 
 
>Well, glad to hear the someone is.  I don't like asking people
>for money for anything, but had people been kept up to date on
>what was going on, I suspect that many would have been very glad
>to contribute.  Even pet shops and the like - NYC pet stores
>stand to reap a windfall when ferrets become legal in the city
>and could well be happy to contribute to the cause.
 
Well, surprisingly, the FML is not the only place computer people
gather to talk about ferrets.  I have a great deal of contact
with the folks on the very active ferret topic on GEnie.  We've
even avoided asking for money there (though we've posted updates
regularly there).  We didn't want to clutter the FML with this
stuff until there was something other than gum-chewing to be
done.
 
Petland won't provide funds or assistance since their last run in
with the DoH, TFH won't, 8-in-1 won't.  Further because of past
experiences with the DoH many pet stores are afraid to get openly
involved with the hearings.  We have not given up...  I've just
waiting for something substantial, like this hearing, before
getting folks riled up.
 
 
>I specifically said that I did NOT read a ruling.  I did read,
>on Compu$erve, a terse note with no explanation saying that the
>judge was scheduled to judge.
 
 
Actually from your words, "... as I understand it, the judge did
NOT say that the ferret must be turned in ....  The judge said (I
think - I didn't see the judge's ruling, so can't swear by
it)...." That you had some source that communicated to you the
judge's ruling.  I'd be curious to know who left it and what was
said in the note.
 
 
>What settlement is the city looking for?  Money?  (Like I said,
>seems to me that cash can override any Administrative ruling in
NYC!)
 
Nope.  It goes like this.  The owner can give up the ferret and
the fine and threatened criminal suit will overlooked.  This
means that the DoH's strong arm tactics remain officially
unchallenged.  This also means that the next time a case like
this comes to court the DoH can hold this up as an example of how
far they're willing to go to keep ferrets out of the city.
 
 
>Will do!
 
Thank you.  You can't believe how many e-mail copies of letters
I've received.  And to the degree that I can and when I do have
something productive to say, I definitely will.  The folks at the
AFA have been kind enough to offer us a chance to start a NYC
area Club.  I'm trying to decide if I have the chance to do this
or if I should ask for volunteers.  My wife and I are moving to
Portland, OR in October and we hate to start something and then
walk out on it.  Anyway, I'll try to keep folks up with anything
substantial that happens.
 
-Jeb
 
[Posted in FML issue 0410]