BIG--I didn't try to post about the skunks a couple of days ago since it
isn't ferret-related.  Since you did let a post go through, however, I'd
like to update everyone on the story.  It sounds eerily like CA stories
I've heard.  [Moderator's note: I have to agree with the CA comparison. BIG]
 
All mustelid lovers,
 
I live in Kansas City and have heard Pricilla on the radio a few times
talking about her skunks.  This morning (Thursday) she said that the skunks
have been given a reprieve and will not be killed.  This is only temporary,
though.  She has to take them to the nearest skunk-friendly state, Iowa, in
order to get them back.  She has put her house up for sale and is planning
to move her family including 3 teenagers just to get her pets back.  (We
all know how much teenagers would resist moving to a different state, so
this is obviously very important to the family.) Today she has to start the
fight to gain temporary custody of the skunks because the state still isn't
willing to turn them over to her.
 
Having always lived in ferret-friendly areas, hearing her explain the
tactics the Dept. of Wildlife used to get her pets made me appreciate all
that CA ferret owners have to deal with.  Pricilla's neighbor called the
Wildlife Dept.  to report the skunks.  Officials went to Pricilla's house
last Friday to check the story.  They looked over the skunks and asked
where she found them.  She told them that she had bought them from a
breeder in Iowa and showed them the paperwork.  She was told that as long
as she didn't take them from the wild, she had not done anything wrong.
They asked about inoculations, and she told them they had had some shots
but not for rabies.  Again, they told her that she had done the right
thing and had done nothing wrong.  They did not tell her that keeping
domesticated skunks as pets is illegal here.  When they left that Friday
Pricilla thought that having seen the skunks and checking their health, the
Wildlife Dept.  was satisfied.  Monday afternoon, however, they showed up
again with two state troopers and demanded the skunks be turned over!  Her
skunks are considered wild animals and a rabies threat even though they
came from a breeding farm and are never outside to be exposed to rabid
animals.  The Wildlife Dept.  "led her to believe" <<her words; I would say
"lied to her">> that the skunks were fine and posed no problem.  They did
not tell her they were illegal, offer her some time to find a new home for
them, or give any indication that they would confiscate her pets.
 
This reminds me of so many stories I have heard from California.  It also
reminds me that many people, including government agencies, do not realize
ferrets are domesticated.  I went home last night and made copies of my
babies' shot records.  I usually only keep them in their travel cage for
trips to/from the vet.  I decided last night that I want to be sure no one
ever takes my babies because of ignorance, whether I'm on a trip to the
vet, store, park, or anywhere else.  Please don't just think of this as a
skunk story.  Let it be a reminder that our pets are often feared and
reviled as "rats" or "rabies carriers" and can be taken away by ignorant
people.  I think of Rocky in CA and remember how the F&G Dept.  took him
and had him killed when they said he would be given some time.  I don't
want to sound like an anti-government conspiracy theorist!  I just want
everyone to be careful, because sometimes crazy unimaginable things happen.
As the Boy Scouts say.......Be prepared.
 
Debi and the 6 misunderstood mustelids,
Fifi, Moose, Jiggy, Lily, Timmy, and Gaby
and cat named Puppy
[Posted in FML issue 3014]