To the folks asking about Houston.  The city of Houston itself has no
references to ferrets in their code.  It's a case of being legal by virtue
of being unregulated.  Not all of the surrounding suburbs and towns are
legal.  Some are like Houston, unregulated, but at least the town of
Friendswood specifically defines ferrets as a wild or dangerous animal and
prohibits keeping of wild or dangerous animals.  So you will be able to
find places to live where your ferts are not illegal, but before settling
anywhere (especially if you're buying) contact the town's city secretary
and get a copy of the ENTIRE animal chapter of the code of ordinances.
Read it carefully not only for the word ferret but for any version of the
scientific name (Mustela with either or both putorius or/and furo).  Check
for definitions of wild, dangerous, prohibited, restricted, etc animals
and code that applies to those generalities.  Also talk to animal control
officials.  It wouldn't be the first place AC told people ferrets were
illegal without any code to point to for backup.  Such a case doesn't make
them illegal, just needs to be a red flag to you to be careful.
 
Debra in Fort Worth
[Posted in FML issue 2868]