You know, you just have to wonder why the world is picking on ferrets. Now, maybe it's because I only look at the world of ferrets, but it seems like these guys are gettin singled out for no reason [with the exception of other bigger exotics, which are also banned losts of places, i.e. lions, tigers, alligators, ect., those kind of animals]. Ferrets only carry diseases that are dangerous to other ferrets, to the best of my knowledge, so that can't be it. They aren't agressive towards humans, unless mistreated. And using that logic, you would think they would ban dogs and parrots [of course, I'm not advocating banning dogs or parrots... just ignorance, lol]. One has to wonder why ferrets get singled out for banning. It makes me think that politicians are just ignorant of this creature. Since there can't be much benefit, politically, from banning ferrets, one just has to wonder why? What does New Zealand have to gain by banning ferrets? What does California, or New York City [what exactly DID Juliani have against ferrets?] have to gain? It just boggles my mind. If anybody could tell me what their supposed reasons are for these bans, I would be glad to be clued in because, for the life of me, I just can't figure it out. ...Now, on the opposite end of the spectrum, I think it would be a great thing to classify ferrets as exotics, making owning them something that requires a license or permit. This would ensure that ferrets wouldn't be bought up like pet rodents, and then deemed as expendable. People would have to have some knowledge of the animal they are buying, and know that they are not easy or cheap to take care of. There would be less spontaneous ferret sales. A very good thing, if you ask me. I would love to see the saddening amount of homeless ferrets reduced. I see lots of homeless ferrets on this list from time to time, which lets me know that the number of homeless ferrets in the real world must be exponentially higher. I feel the same way about dogs and cats. With breeders and puppy mills in place, the euthanization of these animals will never decrease. Breeders serve some function, I guess, but when people only look to buy "purebred" animals, "mutts" and "alley cats" somehow become expendable. Life is life. In our own human society, we have laws that prevent discrimination of people because of "mixed race"... It makes you wonder what we're thinking. The whole mess makes me sad... Roary Caring for his own nine ferrets just because he loves them, without needing or wanting a check from anyone Albuquerque, NM [Posted in FML issue 3739]