This link is to an article regarding the saving of wild American black-footed ferrets...(More than half my 'FB friends-list' will enjoy THIS article as well as, certainly, most of the Mailing List ) But as a matter of fact, many of ferret shelters have gotten their 501-c-3 federal rating from as-much-as-anything, a misunderstanding by the beuracracy of this act as applied to ferrets in the United States. Because the paper-pushers in the federal departments lump all ferrets with this endagered American wild species (however UNtrue that actually is.) So that once any given applicant can show THAT they can handle themselves as a shelter in their paper application, the Feds seem to have a tendency to push the papers along under the Endangered Species Act (really!) rather than recognizing the formerly European Domestic ferret as-such and this mix-up is both easily recognized and also *I think* a Very Large Part of the "why" of why beaureaucrats nearly everywhere they're still stubbornly doing so are donkily-set against re-categorizing the domestic ferret AS domestic rather than either wild or exotic. Yes, I KNOW it's a bore and a chore to still keep trying to set the paper-pushers straight. BUT! IF you are a ferret shelter or sanctuary, i'd found that it is good to keep your buttski's covered by obtaining whatever goes for a wild-critter licensure in your state which I had one of those for The Ferret & Dove Sanctuary, Inc. while it existed and I was in charge of all ITS paperwork including licenses and forms. (I had gotten a "License to posess" any critter or bird in my state that excepted several kinds of endangered monkeys. And made sure that yearly license was prominently displayed in our living room each year along with the other form renewals. IN FACT JUST BEING A PRIVATE OWNER of a domestic ferret or several, it may not be a bad idea to bolster your own right to keep your pets with a "License to Own or Posess" of this nature. If I EVER got another car and could, therefore be able to look after ferrets again (being , with a vehicle, able to ferry them to any of several ferret vets in my town) then I would very certainly re-obtain one of these handy-dandy licenses just because of the very ambiguity of the "exotic-or-not" hoopla which seems to be knocked about like a badminton birdie from one official or even animal cop to the next with as-much chances of falling on either side of that judgemental net. Well, ANYway... Here is the article link . <http://www.defendersblog.org/2012/12/how-the-esa-saved-the-black-footed-ferret/> [Posted in FML 7669]