Below is a letter that we received.  It has been authenticated and I will
tell you that the animals involved were safely taken care of.  If you wish to
respond to the young man who wrote this send it to.
CDFA1
PO Box 2856
Fremont, CA 9453-0856
or
send it to me via e-mail and I'll print it.
I have his home address and will forward anything sent to him.  I'm sure he
could use all the love and support I know all of us are capable of.
I am hand typing this (gotta get a scanner) so typos are mine... everything
else is true and exactly as he wrote it.
CDFA1
begin text.
July 3,1995
 
To Whom it may concern:
 
My name is Brent Utley, I am from California but I've lived in Phoenix,
Arizona.  I've lived in Az. for the past 5 years.  I never knew what a ferret
was until I moved to Arizona.  After deciding I wanted a pet, I checked in to
dogs, cats, and etc.  I called the Ferret Club of Arizona to get information
on them, so this was a very researched descision.  I bought 2 ferrets.  They
are very much a part of my life as is a dog to someone else.  This past June,
I was moving to California to go to summer school.  I went through the
California Food and Agriculture Inspection Station on the Blythe, California,
Arizona border and was told that my ferret were prohibited in Callifornia and
were going to be taken away and probably destroyed.  Plus I was going to be
cited and faced a fine and possible jail time.  My ferrets were stripped from
and I was ticketed.  I went to my court date and was told the state wanted me
to pay a $500.00 fine and 3 years probation.  I told them I didn't have the
money so they said I could go to jail for 4 days and it would be dropped.  So
that's what I'm doing.  August 1st I'm going to jail in Blythe California for
4 days for bringing my pets with me to my mothers house.  I could take them
to  48 other states but I just happen to go to summer school in California.
So now I'm going to jail.  I think this is totally stupid.  But its still
worth it because I loved my pets.  If you want to know how I feel, let
someone shoot your family dog or cat or horse, then you'll know.
 
end text.
 
I do want to add that the 48 states comment is what he said, we all know
there are only 47 that you can legally take ferrets into.
 
What can you do????? Send letters to us, addressed to the CA Senate or
Assembly or Governer telling them just how inclined you are to visit, as a
tourist or student, or move to California.  It's such an understanding
state..... (I'm sorry I am very angry and upset right now)
Send us pictures of children with ferrets (we still have not received even 1
picture since our plea for them 1 month ago).  Help us stop this maddness...
 California has got to come to it's senses.... Don't expect someone else to
write that letter or send those pictures.... WE need each and every one of
them....
If you live in CA.... Stand up and be counted.  Put that Green ribbon on your
car, it doesn't mean you have ferrets, it means you support legalization,
they're not going to follow you home and even if they did without a search
warrant they couldn't get in.  Attend these rallys and meetings, we need
numbers to show support and right now we are not getting them.  Join the
CDFA, FA, or LOS CA and help fight to make ferrets legal in this state.....
 Send me your snail mail address, I'll send you petitions that you can get
signed and return to us....
CDFA1
[Posted in FML issue 1248]