Hello everyone,
 
This is a letter from a very supportive ferret enthusiast who I asked
to write you all a note about why she feels the way she does about our
ferret bill.
 
Sometimes I am too close to the issue to communicate completely and
sometimes there are things that the lobbyists have asked me not to pass
along.  But I wanted Julie to know why I was vehemently against the
initiative-- no one has bothered to do a poll of Californains to see if
they would even support such a ballot initiative, we have NO advertising
budget and as the professionals have put it, "we have no business
promoting a ballot initiative without an advertising budget"(300 million
in advertising was spent on the last round of initiatives), and finally
but most significantly, if the ballot initiative fails , which I believe
it will, we virtually close all doors to ferret legalization for the
forseeable future because the legislature and even ajudge looking at this
issue will say the people of California have spoken and they don't want
ferrets!
 
Put simply and succintly the ballot initiative is a BAD idea.  In any
case, I wanted to let Julie know why I still support our ferret bill,
as imperfect as it is.  Here's what she wanted to pass along to you.
 
Jeanne
 
P.S.  This is most likely the LAST message from me on this account.  If
you haven't already e-mailed me at: [log in to unmask] and
asked to be added to the CA UPDATE, you will NOT get any more updates.
Just so you know!
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Hello, my name is Julie.  Like most of you, I am an ordinary California
citizen who happens to adore ferrets and wants to see them legal in this
state.
 
Recently I was surprised by a phone call from Jeanne Carley, the driving
force behind legislative efforts, who took the time to address many of my
concerns regarding the status of the current ferret bill AB647.  By the
end of our conversation I was feeling much more optimistic about what the
bill hopes to accomplish and about our chances for success.  Jeanne asked
me to write an open letter and try to express some of what makes me
excited about this piece of legislation.
 
Those of you who have followed legalization efforts carefully probably
have the same questions that I did.  Why is our bill on the suspense file
of the Senate Appropriations Committee, where so many of our previous
bills languished and died?  What makes this particular bill likely to be
passed by the legislature?  Will the Governor sign the bill into law,
even though he vetoed our last bill in 2004?  Why does the bill simply
call for yet another study, and what if the Department of Fish and Game
chooses to ignore the results of the studyjust as they have ignored all
previous scientific evidence?
 
The first thing that Jeanne explained is that we have some very strong
supporters in the State Legislature including our author Paul Koretz.
These members very much want ferret legalization to happen and view it
as a top priority.  Over the years, our representatives have become well
educated about ferrets.  When our bills do make it to committee votes or
to floor votes, they pass with an overwhelming majority.  Although the
support of our representatives should not be taken for granted, at this
point they truly are acting as our advocates.
 
Our strongest friends in legalization, though, are also firmly committed
to CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act.  They are not willing
to legalize ferrets in a way that would be seen as circumventing the
requirements of CEQA.  What CEQA says is that any government agency
(such as the Department of Fish and Game) that wishes to take an action
which they feel might possibly be detrimental to the environment (such
as removing ferrets from the list of prohibited wild animals) must first
conduct an initial study.  Based on the results of the study the agency
can either make a negative declaration, meaning that there is no
possibility of environmental damage, or go on to produce a full-scale
environmental impact report.
 
Those of us who know and understand ferrets hate the idea of another
study to prove what has already been demonstrated so clearly.  Jeanne
herself wrote several years ago that funding an environmental study would
be a waste of money, since the DF&G would just ignore anything showing
ferrets in a positive light.  The thing that has changed is our target
audience.  The requirement of a study is no longer a roadblock placed by
the DF&G as a way of avoiding the issue.  It is something requested of us
by our friends in the legislature, who ve ry much want to make ferrets
legal but who want to do so within the framework of CEQA.
 
That leaves the question of the Governor and whether or not he will sign
this bill after vetoing our previous bill.  Governor Schwarzenegger is a
bit of a mystery.  He was largely silent on the issue of ferrets before
his veto, not stating an opinion one way or the other and not replying
to any of the letters written to him by ferret supporters.  There was
one very positive sign that he was attentive to the issue, though.  Of
the hundreds and hundreds of bills that made it to his desk, ferret
legalization was one of only a few dozen featured on his web site to
solicit public opinion.  This was not a guarantee that he would support
ferret legalization.  It was an open invitation to the public to speak
out in large numbers.  (Unfortunately, some ferret lovers assumed that
we already had his support simply because he appeared in a movie with a
ferret.  Because of that they may have overlooked the opportunity to make
their opinion known to him.)  Governor Schwarzenegger was surely torn on
this issue, knowing how many Californians love ferrets but also needing
to be responsive to the supposed experts at the Department of Fish and
Game.
 
Frustrating as the Governor's veto was, it did not shut the door on
legalization.  In his veto message the Governor stated quite clearly that
he likes ferrets and would be willing to sign a more simply worded bill
that does not legalize ferrets prior to an environmental study.  With
AB647, we have another opportunity to communicate our feelings about
ferret legalization to the Governor.  This is not the time to give up on
legislative efforts.  This is the time to politely but clearly educate
the Governor about ferrets, just as we have educated our senators and
assemblymembers over the years.
 
If you are reading this and you love ferrets, I will ask you for one
simple favor - both for me and for yourself.  Write a letter to your
State Senator today.  AB 647 still has to pass the California State
Senate or the Governor will not even have the chance to sign it Write
to your State Senator TODAY.
 
Visit http://www.ferretnews.org
to see who represents you in the State Capitol.  It is critical to
our bill that you do this, otherwise it will die.  Let's see this bill
through!
 
But immediately after that letter, please write to the Governor and ask
him to support AB647, the Domestic Ferret Bill.  He won't know that you
want them legal until you tell him.  The letter doesn't need to be long
or eloquent.  Just a few sentences with your signature and address will
suffice.  Why not stick in your favorite ferret photograph for good
measure?  It'll put a smile on the faces of his office staff.  Send
it to:
 
   Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
   State Capitol Building
   Sacramento, CA 95814
 
Or phone 916-445-2841 or FAX to 916-445-4633.
 
There are hundreds of thousands of ferrets living illegally in
California.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if he heard from thousands of
ferret lovers?  Then his decision would be easy.
 
I share your dismay that ferret legalization has dragged on for so many
years.  But due to the persistence and enthusiasm of ferret lovers across
the state, we are now just a few steps from freedom becoming a reality.
I encourage you all to stay involved and to personally express your
wishes to those who are in a position to change the law.
 
Julie
[Posted in FML issue 5180]