Hey, gang!
 
This most recent ordinance affects all Cook county residents, not just
the city of Chicago.  If you have access (or would like to sign up for a
free on-line account) to the web-based version of the Chicago Tribune,
you can read the whole article here:
 
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0402260311feb26,1,4350369.story
?coll=chi-news-hed
 
The gist is that an ordinance has been passed requiring all dogs, cats,
and FERRETS to be microchipped for identification purposes.  This has
been passed ONLY at the committee level and will not become law until it
has been approved by the full Cook County Board, although Board President
John Stroger strongly favors it.  At this point, your only recourse is to
contact your local Cook County Board member and express support for or
protest against the bill.
 
While County Commissioner Peter Silvestri (R-Elmwood Park) reports that
the main reason for the required chipping is to reunite lost pets with
owners, I personally feel this may be the county's attempt to track
"dangerous" breed dogs without actually venturing into any breed-specific
legislation, which has caused serious outcries from the dog-owning
community.  By creating a blanket policy covering all domestic
carnivorous mammals, the county (in my humble opinion) hopes to curb some
of the recent large dog attacks that have received so much coverage in
the past few years.  Considering that most of the dangerous animals are
kept by irresponsible people, I doubt that these individuals would submit
to such a requirement regardless of the law.
 
On the up side, Cook County acknowledges that ferrets are a domesticated
pet that is in the same league as dogs and cats.  There are also benefits
to requiring Cook County Animal Control to scan animals and make a
reasonable effort to locate an owner prior to adopting or, worse,
destroying a pet.  On the down side...well, I don't know how most people
feel about chipping their pets.  And I know that there are several people
on this list who have multiple pets, making such a requirement cost
prohibitive to them.
 
If passed, the county would offer several clinics in various locations
where pet owners could have their pets chipped for $15 per pet, which is
a much lower price than offered at most vet offices.  If this ordinance
is passed, violations could cost pet owners $20 per day of non-compliance
after April 1, 2005.  Warning tickets will be issued prior to that date.
 
As far as the exotic ban is concerned, Alderman Coleman's tiger team of
animal experts, including Chicago's own fabulous Steve Dale, host of WGN
Radio's Pet Central, is still scrubbing away to my knowledge.  On his
radio show, though, Steve mentioned that hedgehog, most reptile, and
ferret owners can relax.  Although I am still monitoring the Chicago City
Council calendar for Police and Fire committee meetings, I feel confident
(particularly after this most recent county ordinance) that our ferrets
will always be welcome members of the Chicago community.
 
Please note that this e-mail is for informational purposes only.  I have
no intention of starting a debate for or against chipping.  I just want
to keep ferret owners informed of local politics that affect them and
theirs.
 
My best to all of you and the furry ones in your lives!
 
Viki S. Rollins
[Posted in FML issue 4435]