The 02-23-00 evening edition of NPR's All Things Considered contained a
story about a man who was arrested, convicted and jailed for the crime of
ferret ownership in the state of California.  I believe this was the same
case previously discussed several times in the FML.  The commentator
who interviewed the poor man in jail (3 week sentence) was not very
sympathetic, but at least he allowed the guy to rebut some of the
ridiculous CA Fish & Game ferret statements about feral populations, etc.
The interviewer's tone was pretty patronizing however, perhaps bordering
on snide.  He conveniently dismissed the entire issue of personal rights
being trampled because this case was "not comparable to Stalin's
atrocities".  That's the kind of toadying to status quo authority that I've
come to expect from NPR newscasts in recent years, so it probably isn't a
slap at ferret ownership per se.  I really feel sorry for the poor guy who
ended up in jail.  Similar ugly scenarios weighed heavily on my mind last
year when a prospective employer flew me to California for a job interview.
Amazingly, when I mentioned the ferret legality concern, they offered to
find me a local "black-ops" vet!  Even so, I just couldn't picture living
under that kind of threat so I ended up declining the position.  Money
can't ever substitute for freedom.
 
Good luck to all you California Ferret Criminals.
 
[WL]
[Posted in FML issue 2970]