Yesterday I was sounding off about the ferret kept in a 10-gallon aquarium
in a local pet store.
 
Thanks to very helpful info from some of my fellow FML'ers and Floridians,
I have reported this pet store to the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission.  The Commission has a series of laws concerning
the housing of many "wildlife" animals, including ferrets.  The statutes
do specifically name ferrets several times.  This store is clearly in
violation of these statutes.  They require a 4' x 5' x 3' high enclosure
for one or two ferrets.  Personally, I think a store should be allowed a
smaller enclosure, but a 10-gal tank clearly doesn't cut it.  The statutes
even require that a toy of some sort be placed in the cage!
 
It also appears that a license is required to sell ferrets.  I hope that
we can get something accomplished - get the owners fined, get their
license to sell ferrets revoked, and most of all, get decent housing for
these poor ferrets.
 
Any reward money I get for this (yes, Florida does offer rewards) will be
donated to needy shelters.
 
For those who are curious, Florida classifies ferrets as wildlife that may
be owned for personal use without a permit (their words, my paraphrasing).
So nobody thinks this is another California, the list also includes
hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, rabbits, canaries, and many other animals
we think of as domestic.
 
For those who are *really* curious, here is the link to the relevant
statutes: http://floridaconservation.org/q&a/captive.html.
 
Roger
Digger and Bear
[Posted in FML issue 3655]