Does anyone know OFFICIALLY why ferreting is illegal in the U.S., and how
long it has been so?  Please be civil!  I'm not going to try it & don't want
to hear why it should or shouldn't be legal/right/humane, etc.  I'm curious
because I'm doing some research on the history of ferrets and ferreting.
 
Early English colonists brought ferrets to America to help them hunt rabbits
- which aren't as big a problem in the U.S.  as in the U.K.  (more
predators, I guess).  So it may have been unnecessary to hunt them with
ferrets here.  But people still hunt and kill rabbits, whether for food or
pest control with dogs, poisons, and traps.  (I'd think ferrets would be
more environmentally friendly than poisons.  .  .)
 
I've heard that terrier-type dogs superceded ferrets as rabbit hunters here,
but don't understand why.  Is it because dogs are less easily
distracted/more oriented toward obeying commands?  Easier to handle?  Better
PR as "man's best friend?" From a practical standpoint, that doesn't make
sense to me, since (1) even small dogs are too big to go in rabbit holes;
(2) if dogs are better, EVERYONE would use them and ferreting wouldn't make
sense in Europe either; (3) ferret size/body shape/natural tendencies seem
to make them more suited to it than dogs.  Additionally, dogs used for that
purpose would have to have been specially bred for it - why do that, if you
already have an animal that's perfectly adapted for the job?
 
Was it a "humane issue?" If so, why's it legal to hunt deer with dogs (in
some states); rabbits/small game with falcons (in some states); foxes,
birds, and other animals with dogs (in some states); and all types of
animals with guns (legal in all states, as far as I know)?  What's the
difference between sending a ferret down a rabbit hole to flush (or
sometimes kill) a rabbit and loosing a dog in the woods to chase down a deer
or rabbit, or "tree" a raccoon/possum so a hunter can shoot it?  (Sometimes
the dogs catch them - I can't see that being any more "brutal" than a ferret
catching a rabbit, & my understanding is that ferreters take precautions to
prevent that from happening - by using smaller ferrets, nets, etc.)
 
A PR issue (those vicious, nasty, little weasel cousins that attack babies)?
Was it outlawed because pro-pet-ferret people wanted to smooth over the
image of ferrets to make them more acceptable as housepets?  That doesn't
make sense either - cats kill & eat birds, mice, gophers, rabbits & whatever
else they can find, & that's just considered "cat nature" and completely
accepted.  In fact, cats are now the #1 most popular pet in America!
 
So what's the deal?
 
Karen
(making it a habit to ask too many questions!)
[Posted in FML issue 1868]