I just read Cathie Venturelli's 'Adventures in Bureaucracy' in yesterday's
FML.
 
Me thinks the Mexican government just screwed one of their own citizens.
 
Ferrets are considered domestic animals in the United States by the
Department of Agriculture and the Department of Wildlife.  All that is
needed to bring 'pet' ferret into the United States is a current (10 days
or less since issuance) health certificate and vaccination record.  Being
rather 'know it all' here, I KNOW..I have imported ferrets for 4 years,
this being the first year I haven't......
 
For the Mexican government to require all that bru-ha-ha to get the
ferret out of the country was a scam to part poor Cathie from her money.
(Unless, for some odd reason, the European Polecat IS considered a
protected specie in Mexico...but, I think all this can be avoided by
simply calling your ferret by its taxonomical name, rather than its common
name.  (IE: 'Mustela furo' instead of 'ferret'.  The logic here is that
government officials are the same world wide...stupid and non-thinking....
if they say your 'ferret' is a protected specie, you will play hell
getting them to see otherwise, but if you refer to your animal by its
Latin name, simply ask them to check it against their protected specie
list...if not there, then it MUST be ok to take him out of the country!
One has to learn how to deal with governmental dimbulbs.)
 
I cannot speak of the requirements to get her fuzzy back into Mexico.
 
For Our Ferrets!
 
MC, The Rude One
(With Snorkle, Tuzigoot, Bancho, and Artemus.  In spirit, Bubba,
Billy-Bob, and Garret)
[Posted in FML issue 3624]