Hello everyone,
The following was forwarded to me so I'd like to respond:
>I am ashamed at the ferret community here in California. I have only
>known Pat for three years - but I have never seen anything in him that
>would cause the rest of the ferret community to turn against him. In
>fact, I would love to know why so many people have turned against him -
>but all I read / hear are very nonspecific opinions. Even Jeanne Carley
>whom I respect very highly seems to have turned on him (if I read her
>letters correctly). I would like to know why.
I haven't turned against Pat Wright, unless disagreeing with him is
considered a form of betrayal. If it is, then this certainly is not news
since Pat and I have often disagreed on how best to handle the legalization
issue here.
One example was when our lobbyist first came to me in 1994 complaining that
Pat had alienated an Assemlbymember by demonstrating/picketing outside his
office. The lobbyist told me that this Assemblymember was a supporter of
legalization but was having second thoughts about that support because of
the behavior of these ferret enthusiasts. Needless to say, I quickly
passed this important information on to Pat because neither he nor I are
experts in lobbying or in the intricacies of the state legislature.
Instead of learning from this, Pat simply defended his actions and
continued to be pretty militant. It was not the response I'd hoped for
from someone trying to help get a bill through the state legislature.
Later, Pat was involved in at least three very public bite circumstances,
one of which sadly resulted in Rocky's death. I have never supported
public displays of ferrets in CA and have only organized two public
appearances of a ferret at state hearings at the request of the author of
our bill. The ferrets in question had absolutely no inclination to bite
and were not handled by anyone without supervision. When dozens of ferrets
make a public appearance in CA, the potential downside is too great, in my
opinion, and includes the possibility of confiscation. I have never wanted
anyone's ferret to suffer needlessly so have never supported that kind of
event. Pat disagrees with me on that one.
Finally, with regard to the lawsuits that Pat has brought, they have
certainly been expensive. I have also not been terribly impressed with the
representation or with Pat's judgment. Here's an example. Pat's earlier
lawsuit was dismissed "with prejudice". What that means in that the judge
felt that the lawsuit "had no merit." To spend the time and $$ to bring a
meritless lawsuit is, needless to say, pretty sad. This expensive exercise
in futility led to legal bills totalling somewhere around $13,000.00 I
believe. Fundraising letters were sent to ferret folks to help pay for the
lawsuit. Then, incredibly, Pat and his attorney decided to appeal this
decision. That meant that they went before the same judge and asked him to
overrule himself! I don't think most rational people would do this and
even Pat's attorney at last year's Round Up said chances were slim to none
for winning this appeal. So why do it? Another example, in my opinion, of
poor judgment and throwing good money after bad, some of it yours.
Now, with this additional trial, Pat's boyfriend asked me to hold a
fundraiser to help cover Pat's bills. As much as I feel sorry for Pat, I
felt that this was out of line and told him so. If anyone wants to help
Pat for Pat's sake, please do so, but to expect an organization like CFL,
or any of the other ferret organization, to raise money in their name to
cover Pat's legal bills is outrageous. Neither CFL nor any other ferret
organization that I know of had any input in the selection of Pat's
attorney, nor any input in the course or direction of the trial. We were
never even asked if we thought the lawsuit had any merits in terms of the
legalization effort-- something I would expect from anyone asking an
organization to help pay for such an endeavor. To continually expect the
ferret community to fund these lawsuits, now totaling somewhere around
$20,000.00 is very self-centered in my opinion.
Has Pat done some excellent things for ferret legalization. You bet.
He founded Ferrets Anonymous which has grown tremendously since it's
inception. Pat also gathered a whopping 13,000 signatures for a
legalization petition delivered to the Fish and Game Commission in 1995.
That's a huge and impressive undertaking. For years Pat did the FA
newsletter virtually all by himslef, and he still works on the website.
Pat wants the same thing all Californians want: ferret legalization in
California. But, in my opinion, and in the opinion of many others,
including some of our supporters in the State Capitol, his actions are
simply not always helpful and can be quite hurtful to the effort. In the
past, his actions have even been damaging to Ferrets Anonymous itself.
Some of you who are new to the issue may not know the stress previous the
Rocky incident and Pat's legal bills put on the organization before the
leadership changed and the fact that some members and chapters talked
seriously about leaving FA.
So, there you have it. I don't think the comment that I have turned
against Pat is accurate but if, by declining to help pay for his legal
bills, some of you believe I have, then so be it. I will continue to
disagree with Pat, as I have in the past, on several issues, including
public displays of ferrets in CA and the assumption that the ferret
community bears any responsibility for his legal fees. I feel sorry for
him but feel that most of his problems are the result of extremely poor
judgment and sometimes irrational behavior. I think Pat's done some very
good things for legalization and some pretty bad things. But I have always
wished him well and was delighted to hear from him when he was released
from jail.
I hope this clears things up for anyone who doesn't know some of the
history or background of the controversy.
Jeanne Carley
Californians for Ferret Legalization
P.S. Due to time constraints, I don't receive the FML so if anyone wishes
to speak to me directly, please e-mail me.
[Posted in FML issue 2977]
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