Hello again! I've been out of circulation for a few months, due to losing
access to the internet - long story.  This is Matt Ouimette, President of
the Utah Ferret Association, with the news of the week.
 Many counties in Utah are noe ferret-legal zones, with the notable
exception of Salt Lake County (who votes on the issue on monday, so keep
your fingers crossed!)
  Today, one of upir members talked with the director of Animal Control,
to see what her vote would be (Animal Control and Health are the two
departments AGAINST letting ferrets into the county).
It appears that she is in FAVOR of it, now that she can't escape the
influx of `illegal' ferrets from ALL the other counties in the state, or
so she says. However, there are some provisos in her proposal that make
us believe otherwise.
 We can agree to having shelters and pet stores pay a $75 fee anually to
sell or place ferrets, We can agree with making it mandatory for pet
stores to provide care and feeding information, and also to sell only
fixed animals.
We have not yet decided as an organization if we are for or against
mandatory data-chipping of all animals in the county.
we are VIOLENTLY opposed to two of the terms -
First: periodic inspections of the ferret owners HOMES, to be sure they
are meeting the `requirements' of owning a ferret  (Is it just me, or is
this unconstitutional?)
 Second: How to PAY for these inspections? simple! charge 10 TIMES the
fee you would pay for an anual dog license - that's right!
in Salt Lake County, a dog license for a spayed or neutered dog is $5 -
they want to charge $50 for a spayed or neutered ferret!
 We will attempt on monday to show just how LUDICROUS this proposal is,
but if anyone has any suggestions, I would be GLAD to hear them.
 
Thank you,
Further bulletins as events warrant;
 Matt Ouimette
  President:
Utah Ferret Association
 
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[Posted in FML issue 0752]