Baron: Re places where ferrets are illegal: California put them under a permit system in 1935 because gun hunters complained that ferreters were taking too many of "their" rabbits. In 1986 at the urging of Hal Cribbs, California fish and game decided not to issue any more permits. Massachusetts and Michigan both have bills pending in their state legislatures that would allow gibs and sprites (spayed hobs and jills respectively) to be owned as pets, but it is possible by now that both may sit in the legislature without going anywhere over the summer. Rhode Island allows ferrets only if you can prove they have been neutered, vaccinated for feline distemper (which they don't get anyway, although -canine- distemper is virtually 100% fatal), and an affidavit that you do not have children 2 years old or younger in your household. New Hampshire bans ferrets but will probably legalize if massachusetts does so. Utah banned ferrets at the urging of the California Dept of Fish and game, which claims to be "in the forefront of the move to ban ferrets nationwide," in 1989. Without telling anyone... Hawaii bans ferrets for fear of the kind of feral populations that grew in New Zealand, even though the NZ animals are probably polecats and not ferrets at all. In many places, the terms are used interchange- ably, as are "dolphin" and "porpoise" in the US. Ferrets are legal in all other states, but be advised that there are individual cities and counties within various states which ban ferrets. For the record, the United States Department of Agriculture considers ferrets a "non-dangerous, pet type animal." (Title 9, etc...) Now, if you really want to be appalled, I could tell you -why- California is so up in arms about ferrets..... -Fa [Posted in FML 0139]