Ok, This came straight from The Independent Ferret News Service.  Does this
below mean that my state, Indiana, has rejected the Compendium?  I am pretty
ignorant about all this stuff.  Please give me a clue as to what I can do,
and what all this means?  I understand the basics, just not the whole
picture.  Am I in a state that doesn't accept ferrets as domesticated like
cats and dogs???  Thanks..  Misty
 
[Moderator's note: The following is Copyright ACME Ferret Company and is
being reporduced here as per permission given on their web page. BIG]
 
COMPENDIUM COMPLIANCE SCOREBOARD TO DATE
 
Only 8 state health departments have announced in unqualified terms that
they have already started observing the new guidelines, according to
information compiled by Sukie Crandall from a mail survey to state
officials.
 
Two other states are providing interim bite-case guidance in the spirit of
the new Compendium to local health departments until the regulations or laws
in those states are definitively changed.
 
In 11 states, authorities have clearly indicated they will NOT implement the
new Compendium immediately, either because there are legal and regulatory
hurdles to be overcome first, or because they are waiting for the bat
studies or the Compendium itself to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
 
There are 29 other states which have provided either no information or only
ambiguous statements.
 
WARNING: Even where state health departments have announced compliance,
local health departments under their jurisdiction MAY have discretionary
authority to order ferrets killed for testing.  If you are a ferret owner,
you should contact YOUR local health department to find out what is the
policy in YOUR AREA!  Until you know that quarantine is uniformly observed
in your area, you should be *extremely cautious* about allowing any
strangers to handle your ferrets.
 
Based on information received to date, states that have announced they
have ALREADY ENDORSED OR ACCEPTED the new Compendium are:
ALABAMA
FLORIDA
KENTUCKY
MASSACHUSETTS
NEW JERSEY
VIRGINIA
WISCONSIN
WYOMING
 
States that have indicated they will give SITUATION-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE to
local health departments, along the lines of the Compendium, until such
time as laws and regulations can be changed, are:
NEW YORK
SOUTH DAKOTA
 
States that apparently will NOT IMPLEMENT the new guidelines at the
state level for the time being are:
CALIFORNIA (ferrets also illegal)
COLORADO (but there is some quarantine protection under the law)
INDIANA
IOWA
KANSAS
LOUISIANA
MAINE
NEW HAMPSHIRE (but there is already a 45-day quarantine by law)
NORTH CAROLINA
TEXAS (there is already some quarantine protection in the law)
WEST VIRGINIA
 
States that have provided ambiguous information about whether they are
now implementing the Compendium:
CONNECTICUT
HAWAII (ferrets illegal)
MARYLAND
MICHIGAN
MINNESOTA
MISSOURI
OHIO
OREGON
RHODE ISLAND
VERMONT
 
States about whose policy no authoritative information has come to light are:
ALASKA
ARIZONA
ARKANSAS
DELAWARE
GEORGIA
IDAHO
ILLINOIS
MISSISSIPPI
MONTANA
NEBRASKA
NEVADA
NEW MEXICO
NORTH DAKOTA
OKLAHOMA
PENNSYLVANIA
SOUTH CAROLINA
TENNESSEE
UTAH
WASHINGTON
 
For Further Information...
 
State-level policy pronouncements on the rabies issue by public health
officials of the various states are kept continuously updated at the
Ferret Information Bank site on the Web,
http://www.acmeferret.com/infobank/states.htm
 
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[Posted in FML issue 2184]