I know that in the area I live in that the law requires that you have a
place for your animals to get out of the elements when necessary.  We had
to call the animal warden a few years back when our neighbors got a dog
that they just tied up and left out all the time, they told them that the
law required them to have a shelter for the animal to get out of the
elements when needed.
 
Hope it is the same for ferrets, but I'm not sure.
 
Jan Dicken
[Posted in FML issue 2457]