Re: Garlic powder and brewers yeast. I don't know if it scares off fleas but I
do know it is not harmful and is quite good for ferrets. We bought a big
canister of brewers yeast and garlic powder for dogs at a pet store and add to
the kids food periodically. You can smell the garlic on their breaths when they
give you kisses. I think that some ferret foods already add these supplements.
I'm pretty sure that Totally Ferret has brewers yeast in it already.
 
Re: Minnesota laws. I live in Minneapolis and yes, it is a FFZ. There is no law
that says that ferrets specifically are illegal but you're right it doesn't
allow wild animals and Mpls has considered ferrets illegal before. The
most recent case and the one that got the most press here was about a ferret
named "Boobala" - I believe this was in 1987 or around there - he was the
fuzzie of a vet student. Boobala nipped at an old man (inserting this to high-
light that it wasn't a child) and the mans doctor told him to press charges.
So, the vet student, knowing that ferrets (especially her ferret since he was
vaccinated) aren't prone to rabies, willingly obliged to bring her ferret to
be quarantined. Well, after several days and several days in court where they
had not yet decided what to do, the ferret was killed for testing before the
court ordered it (without telling the owner either). Some miscommunication
between the people at animal control or something. I don't know if she ever
recieved damages etc etc but during this whole ordeal there was at least an
article per day in our large newspaper and it was the hot topic on the
university campus. So, with all this publicity, they still screwed up.
Poor Boobala. Amyways, there have been instances where Mpls has decided
ferrets okay and then cases where they searched and seized. So, iffy country
here. I don't bring mine outside in the city, and don't tell people i have them
unless I know them well (for example, my neighbors don't know). In St. Paul
it is true, you may own (and they sell) ferrets there. But you pay the exotic
animal license (which I thought was a lot more than $10 - like $50 I thought
but could be wrong) and St. Paul has a lot of stipulations as to how many
animals can live per house. So - if you have a bunch, I don't know.
 
However, there are a lot of cities very near to Mpls that have recently
legalized ferrets, like Burnsville (15 minute drive) and one city that is
especially friendly to ferrets, St. Louis Park (borders the city). St. Louis
Park has had litigation against it for even quarantining ferrets and lost!
So, they are very careful I believe not to step on fuzzies toes.
 
I did not know ferrets were illegal in Mpls when I got my first one. And, I am
scared that we may one day be in hot water. I would like to move, but i'm not
in a position to do so right now, so I'm pretty careful. If I was to move
I would move to the rural areas which are notorious for having little or no
intervention from the govt or to St. Louis Park, a very very nice city.
[Posted in FML issue 1135]