I was recently contacted by a ferret owner whose ferret is being treated at
the Animal Medical Center in NYC.  The ferret bit one of the techs there.
Unfortunately, this ferret has had serious chronic health problems and has
not been vaccinated for rabies in the last two years (at the veterinarian's
recommendation).  This has put the ill ferret and the owner's other ferret
in jeopardy as the bite incident was reported to the Dept of Health.
 
I do not know the full details of the situation nor can I confirm them as I
only spoke to the owner last night.  I have referred the ferret owner to
Gary Kaskel since I think he is most in touch with the legal situation in
NYC and what potential risks the ferret owner now faces.
 
Ferret owners should keep in mind the risks of bringing their ferret out
in public in a FFZ - even when it is to bring the ferret to a vet.
(Especially if the ferret has special circumstances such as being nippy
or not being vaccinated against rabies, etc.)
 
We were recently contacted by a shelter operator who was sorry to hear that
we had been closed down due to publishing from NYC.  Although we do have a
bunch of problems in our lives, this isn't one of them.  We live between 1
and 3 hours from NYC (depending on what time of day you try to make the
trip) and ferrets are perfectly legal here.  NY is a very large state, and
NYC does not speak for all of it.  The biggest way in which NYC has
affected us is that it has cut down Mary's television appearances with
ferrets.
 
- Eric
 
Modern Ferret Magazine - For ferret owners. By ferret owners.
Mary & Eric Shefferman & the Fuzzies: Sabrina, Marshmallow, Knuks, Trixie,
Bosco da Gama, Balthazar, Cauliflower, Koosh, and Gabrielle
http://www.modernferret.com
[Posted in FML issue 2924]