On Sun, 13 Sep 1998 02:00:00 -0400, you wrote:
>From:    Matthew aka Krazy Kritter <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Ferrets in Texas (specifically DFW)
>Yes it's true Dallas is a FFZ.  However it is not actively enforced, but if
>there is a complaint you would have NO recourse as the law would be working
>against you.  The Ferret Lovers' Club of Texas desperately needs residence
>of Dallas and other cities willing to stand up at a city council meetings
>and tell them calmly and rationally why ferrets should be allowed.  We
>need people who actually live in the city to speak up and be heard.
 
>Good luck, three years ago I asked then councilman Craig McDaniels to
>start the change process.  His reply was that it was political suicide to
>open the animal code.  The last three times it was opened for discussion
>all that happened was infighting- which the Dallas city council is famous
>for...
 
>The DFW area is made up of more than two dozen cities.  Each city having
>their own laws.  Carrollton, for examples, while not specifically illegal,
>they have said they will confiscate a ferret if a complaint is received,
>or even kill it in a bite scratch incidence.
 
When did Carrollton change their law?  I compiled the first DFW ferret
list for the planning meeting at Linda Davis' house when the group was
first formed.  At that time Carrollton was still rabidly anti-ferret.
As recently as two years ago when we bought our home in Farmers Branch
Carrollton still had anti-ferret laws.
 
>Also many cities here are unregulated which will probably not abide by the
>compendium, but again we won't really know until someone makes a bite
>scratch complaint, so I would urge you to lean on the side of caution.
 
Actually most cities in the Dallas Metroplex have some sort of law one
way or another.  Farmers Branch is one of the few that has no specific
law one way or another.
 
here is what I have found in my calls to animal control in the Metroplex
North Richland Hills, Dallas, Coppell, Mesquite, Garland, Carrollton and
Addison(they are specifically illegal but animal control said they do not
enforce the code unless they have reports of a bite, Carrollton considers
them an exotic)) are areas we know to specifically outlaw ferrets.
 
On the other hand these cities specifically legalize ferrets:
Ft. Worth
Plano
Austin
Bedford
Irving
Haltom City
Watauga
Richardson (as pets w/vaccinations)
Farmers Branch has no law one way or the other.
[Posted in FML issue 2431]