Ricky was recently put to sleep by authorities after he escaped from his owner's home in Queensland, Australia. While ferrets are illegal in the state, they are legal pets in New South Wales, only an hour south of where he was found. Despite requests by the NSW Ferret Welfare Society to take custody and re-home him in NSW, Ricky was put to sleep and then returned to his owner. One of the newspaper articles can be found by searching for "Big stink after ferret weasels into Charleville" on Google. I cannot decide if I am disgused or depressed at the moment, but can only hope that one day the government will come to their senses. Sandee, can you please make sure that Ricky is safe and happy. His owner has kept ferrets on and off for 30 years, so I am sure he has some friends up there. Please let him know that there are many people working down here to try and make sure this never happens again. thank you shona [Posted in FML issue 4517]