I'm not quite sure if this will be of any help.  It is directed toward the
Sierra Club and their stance that ferrets, if given the chance, will survive
in the wild and screw with precious mother nature.
 
I came across an article from the Associated Press probably in just about
every big town paper.  It deals with the release of some 8 to 9,000 minks
from a farm in Oregon by some animal rights activists.  Only about 1300 were
retrieved.  The remainder died from fighting each other, being stepped on
(OUCH!!), and -- get this -- exposure.  Now I'm not an expert on minks but I
do know they are naturally wild and from the same family as ferrets.  If
this large of population of naturally wild animals cannot survive in it's
natural habitat, how is it that ferrets -- known for centuries to be
domesticate and unable to live in the wild -- will create feral communities
that will destroy the environment?
 
It is quite possible that these minks have been raised in captivity to the
point where the wild is no longer home.  Still, the mink probably has more
adaptive skills than the ferret.
 
My source for this story is at the site below.  Read and judge for yourself.
If for some reason I am so far off base about my reasoning, let me know.
I'm not sure how this  could help the bill in CA but at least it will put
more of a kink in the Sierra Club's already screwed up logic.
 
Sincerely,
the F-BOD Troop
Farley, Bailey, Osborn, and Domino
 
http://www.chron.com/cgi-bin/auth/story/content/chronicle/nation/97/06/02/mi
nksreleased.2-0.html
[Posted in FML issue 1955]