I just wanted to point out that unlike other places where ferrets are illegal in the United States, Hawaii has a sensitive island ecosystem where animals like ferrets could -- at least conceivably -- actually wreak havoc on the ecosystem if they were to get loose and breed. I am aware that this is not the case in the rest of the U.S., where they have never been known to do that. However, again the Hawaiian ecosystem is particularly sensitive and it is likely that ferrets would have few if any natural enemies. It has happened with other animals before in Hawaii, and it can be quite amazing what a seemingly harmless "invasive" species can do when it is in an ecosystem that has not had a chance to adapt to its presence. There *IS* a case of domestic ferrets breeding in the wild and causing problems. That case is New Zealand, which is of course another island ecosystem, and in that particular case, there were no natural predators to compete with the ferrets or keep them in check. The New Zealand ferrets did in fact cause quite a lot of trouble. So while we can enjoy knowing that ferrets are "safe" and relatively harmless animals here on the mainland, Hawaii does not necessarily enjoy the same circumstances. Hawaiians have good reason to be extremely cautious about introducing new species, especially predators. Lonny Eachus [Posted in FML 8064]