The domestic ferret has been banned in New Zealand - on the pretext that banning the domestic ferret will (a) reduce the incidence of TB in the population of the feral ferret and (b) prevent stoats killing 20,000 endangered Kiwi chicks each year. if the ban seems draconian and the reasoning imaginative (to say the least), read on ... If you have seen and enjoyed the wonderful film "Loerd of the Rings" and made it your ambition to go and see if that scenery really does exist (IT DOES! AND MORE!), read on ... This ban was sprung upon us the day before the Easter break. I was totally shocked 5 minutes after arriving at work to be phoned by the newspaper and asked to quote about a matter I knew NOTHING about other than that it was the subject of discussion. Instead the bill seems to have been 'rubber stamped' and is just awaiting final acceptance in a few weeks. SO WE DON'T HAVE LONG TO TAKE ACTION! I wonder if the Government thought "Oh, we'll slip this in before Easter, ferret keepers are old men or remote back-country bush people..." If that was their thought, we have to teach them differently! Please go to the website of the New Zealand Ferret Protection and Welfare Society : www.geocities.com/Heartland/Village/9074/ or just do a search under the words 'ferret paws' on Google. Letters saying that you have changed your vacation plans, or in some other way are going to withhold your valuable US $ from the weak NZ economy would help, I am sure. The Minister of Tourism is Hon. Mark Burton; snail mail to c/- Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand e-mail: [log in to unmask] Associate Minister of Tourism Hon Parekura Horomia Mail: same place e-mail: [log in to unmask] Thank you for helping to save the domestic ferret in New Zealand Sheena [Posted in FML issue 3738]