Hi,
I have been pushing for the legalisation of ferrets here in Queensland for
two years now.  The person to talk to is Steve Csurhes the Exotic Species
Officer for the Department of Natural Resources here in Brissy.
 
His email address is [log in to unmask]
 
He is no fool and knows what he is talking about.  But, he initially tried
to brush me off with out of date information (eg wild ferret population in
Tasmania!), but soon backed off when I hit him with all the information
that I had gathered.
 
I persuaded him and his department to review their policy and they started
Feb last year.  They incorporated a review of all 'exotic species' and last
I heard in August was that things were going fine (not finished though),
but he said:
 
  "As far as actual species on the list are concerned, individual species
  can be reviewed or changed at any time in the future by amending the
  regulations.  However, there needs to be clear public demand and support
  from relevant agencies to do this, not to mention support from this
  Department."
 
This is actually a big step forward because before this, it was a clear NO
WAY, followed by them sticking their head in the sand despite what the
facts were.
 
I have not followed up since then since my wife is pregnant, and I have
been trying to get a job in the Netherlands for six months, which I finally
scored two weeks ago.  I leave in another three.  (See my post and other
peoples followups in the last week).
 
I will email Steve now for the latest.  It should not take too long to get
a reply - he knows my name very well by now!
 
Paul Murfett.
[Posted in FML issue 2584]