Pat Wright has released this update:
 
Rocky Update.
Ferrets Anonymous has hired attorney George Weingarten to consider a lawsuit
against those agencies that ordered Rocky's killing back on January 8th.
(please see earlier articles or the web page for details.) Mr. Weingarten is
an excellent civil rights attorney, but he doesn't know much about ferrets.
The rabies compendium which calls for a ten day quarantine for ferrets has
produced a little confusion and we will have to consult with some experts on
the subject.  But a number of details are unavoidable.  Previous to Rocky,
all other ferrets that bit in San Diego were quarantined without incident.
Bite victims were not requested to undergo rabies propholaxis.  Rocky was
killed hours after the authorities learned he was my ferret.  Rocky was
current on his vaccinations, Animal Control expressed no interest in his
status until the day after he was killed.  In fact, they assured us on three
occasions, and the vet where he was being quarantined that no harm would
come to him.  Rocky was killed because he was regarded as a wild animal.
However, a year and a half previous I was charged with possession of a wild
animal without a permit.  That charge was thrown at me the day before my
trial on other charges regarding to someone else's biting ferret.  The
charge was later dropped and the city attorney's office admitted in their
legal brief that ferrets are domestic.  I have begged the authorities to
charge me with ferret possession for the past five years, without success.
Even as they planned to kill Rocky I begged them to charge me with
possession if owning ferrets is a crime.  Mr. Weingarten feels I was singled
out for special treatment, but obviously it will be difficult to prove.  He
says it is somewhere between the "shadow of a doubt" and "preponderance of
the evidence." Most exciting is the fact that we might be able to get an
injunction against the ferret ban in this lawsuit.  The state has a right to
ban domestic animals if they can show a compelling reason.  The status of
the ferret as wild or domestic is not the ultimate factor.  Our next step is
to raise $5000 to do further research and most likely launch the lawsuit.  A
fundraising letter will be in the mail shortly to our entire mailing list of
5,700 people.  Thank you everyone for your support.  I think the ferret
community, en masse, is going to exert some muscle and achieve justice.  But
I still miss Rocky and still have nightmares.  I wish so badly that this
would have not happened.
[Posted in FML issue 2291]