Hello everyone,
 
Today I spoke with someone in the Senate Natural Resources Committee who
told me that Assemblymember Mike Machado's bill AB 409 which dealt
originally with the legal taking of an endangered species (in the course of
normal business practices of a farmer or developer) has been changed to
deal specifically with ferrets.  It would prohibit the legislature from
legalizaing ferrets and leave it solely to the Fish and Game Commission.
The Commission could legalize ferrets only if it could determine that
ferrets are not a threat to the environment of people.  What this bill would
do is enlarge DFG's jurisdiction to include ONE domesticated companion
animal and to hold the ferret to a higher standard than any other
domesticated pet.  Meanwhile, YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO BE REPRESENTED IN THE
LEGISLATURE ON THIS QUESTION WOULD BE SHUT OFF!!!!
 
Do not sit back and tolerate this.  Get on the phone, fax and e-mail now to
your State Senator, especially if he or she is a member of the Senate
Natural Resources Committee and voice your opposition.  Also, contact
Senator Tom Hayden's office immediately to let the chairman know that bill
is simply intended to harm one segment of domesticated pet owners, those
that own ferrets.
 
Last I spoke with you I told you that there might be some alternative
proposed to AB 363 but I was not told what it was.  I cautioned you to keep
in mind that nothing on AB 363 can be taken for granted, that a definite
hearing was not something to be counted on, that we would have to fight
every inch of the way.  Well, sadly, not only is our current bill in
jeopardy but any future ones as well if this bill is to pass.  Don't let
the opposition get away with this.
 
This new language would effectively place a single domesticated pet in the
hands of a wildlife agency and close off one avenue of redress for ferret
lovers, the state legislature.  It would of course also kill our bill AB
363, whose status is already in question.  Ferret enthusiasts, each and
every one of you needs to contact both your State Senator and State
Assemblymember NOW, TODAY, and tell them to oppose this bill.  It is their
job to listen to your concerns and you have been wronged by a vicious and
vindictive State Agency.
 
To find out the name of your State Senator, please visit our website at
http://www.ferretnews.org and enter your zip code.  Contact your State
Senator NOW!
 
Senator Hayden's office number is: (916) 445-1353.  Remember, he is chairman
of the Senate Natural Resources Committee and has been a very big help to us
but you should register your opposition to this bill.
 
The Senate Natural Resources Committee's number is (916) 445-2802.  Remember
to be polite but sincere-- the staffers that take your calls are not the
enemy and rudeness only hurts the issue further.
 
Jeanne Carley
Californians for Ferret Legalization (CFL)
410 Mountain Home Road  Woodside, CA  94062
(650) 851-3750   <[log in to unmask]>
http://www.ferretnews.org-- CFL Website
CALIFORNIANS, YOU CAN FIND OUT YOUR STATE SENATOR BY VISITING THIS SITE!!
CALL AND WRITE YOUR SENATOR AND GOV. WILSON--DON'T LET OUR BILL DIE!
[Posted in FML issue 2348]