Anonymous posted about unlicensed shelters in NJ.  Fuzztek Shelter, who I
am part of, is one of the few licensed shelters in this state.  We pay our
permit fee every year, have our inspections, give out 20 day permits and
the application for a permanent license to adopters, keep careful records
of all ferrets that come in and go out, etc., plus spends hours on the
phone and in person educating ferret owners, giving info in bite cases, and
giving vet referrals.  I was only aware of one other licensed shelter in
NJ, and I don't think you are it.  Please feel free to e-mail me directly,
as I would like to know who you are so that perhaps we could do some work
together.
 
At any rate, to the point.  We have long lamented over what to do about
these rogue shelters.  Yes, we have also heard the comments about the
filth, lack of medical care and horrid conditions, particularly with one in
the Northern part of the state and one in the central part of the state.
In one case we were able to get into the shelter and help the operator
clean up.  They have since decided that sheltering wasn't for them , and
are in the process of giving away all ferrets to good homes.  We have
picked up the tab for medical care on a couple ferrets in particularly bad
condition that were turned over to us by them.
 
One shelter in this state, who is unlicensed, actually had the nerve to
allow an article printed about their work, including giving medical
treatment and dispensing FEDERALLY CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES to people who
asked for help in a major newspaper.  This same person has recently asked
for financial support from the FML and several businesses, claiming that
some of these ferrets haven't been vaccinated or seen a vet for two or more
years.
 
Off the top of my head I can identify about a dozen folks who call
themselves shelters in this state.  I know of two with licenses.  I know
that between them all, there have to be over 400 ferrets.  The two I am
aware of that are licensed have about 125 of these ferrets.  So, the
dilemna then becomes what would happen to all of these ferrets if Fish and
Game shut down the shelter?  I know that we are again full (I don't even
have a spare cage to house a ferret in - if I get an emergency call it will
have to go into a large dog carrier).  There is no way we could take in
that many, or even a part of the ferrets confiscated from unlicensed
shelters.  We also can not financially take on the cost of shipping them
to other shelters.  We keep our heads above water financially as we are
blessed with a vet who allows us to run a tab when needed, and gives us a
HUGE break on costs.  We also get unsolicited cash donations at times,
which we request be made directly to our vet.
 
But I digress... We have found that the best way of dealing with it is to
make all attempts to educate shelters that they need to be licensed (I
urged one such person who is on the FML to do so a year or more ago, I
don't know if they have yet, but tend to think not).  We also make
ourselves available for advice on negotiating a deal with a vet, finding
ways to cut costs without cutting quality of care, etc.
 
Of course if any FML'ers have other ideas, I would love to hear them.
 
And by the way, for any unlicensed shelters in NJ, there is a minimum $500,
maximum $5000 fine PER FERRET for any ferret you sell/adopt out if you are
unlicensed.  So if you have adopted out 5 ferrets this year, you could be
liable for $2500 or more in fines.  Please, please, please, get a license.
If you don't feel that you could pass the inspection, perhaps you need to
rethink the level of care you are giving or able to give, and either figure
out how to improve, or stop sheltering.  If you are a shelter in NJ and in
need of help of any sort, please e-mail me privately.  I will make every
attempt to hook you up with volunteers to help care for the animals (I have
people all over the state looking to help shelters), low cost spay nueter
programs, vet referrals to vets that will give discounted care, etc.
 
Anne Ryan
[Posted in FML issue 2599]