The "CA Ferret Smuggling" post was intended to ease the fears of those
bringing the little guys to CA, and avoid turning a section of the FML into
a "How Smuggling Works" manual.  It seems to have backfired on both fronts.
Ah well ...
 
Mr. Makowski, my apologies for being unclear.  I used the term "border
agents" to keep things simple, which, of course, made them complex.  I
believe that state checkpoints lie _within_ the state doing the inspecting --
sometimes well within -- and not directly on the borderline.  Thus, by the
time one reaches the checkpoint, s/he's literally crossed the line, and is
now subject to the laws of that state.
 
Given that Mr. Flemyng (#1279) knows more about the enforcement side than I
do, we must assume that pets can be confiscated.
 
From a smuggler's point of view, the LAST face you want to present at any
checkpoint is a blanched, stammering, sweaty one.  If you're tense enough to
jump through the roof, everyone's going to notice.  The more complicated and
overwhelming you make smuggling, the more tense you're going to be.
Remember, it's CA, not Red Square, that you're "invading," and our borders
are infamously porous.  We're also the most liberal state west of the
Mississippi, which makes it hard to conceive of border seizure and
euthanasia being practiced on pets entering this state, even on the dreaded
ferret.  So take it easy.  It's not life or death.  No one tells our dairy
ranchers, OK?
 
Mr. Flemyng  has some good ideas.  Use them.  If asked about exotics, lie
through your smiling teeth.  That's bluffing.  If Rudy's detection machines
were in place, I'd be posting bail instead of this.
 
Swampp
[Posted in FML issue 1282]