After a long talk with someone from the USDA Animal Welfare I found that the CA Fish & Game is supposed to allow people stopped at the agriculture stations the option of turning back and taking the ferret out of the state again. They DO NOT have the right to destroy the animal at the station unless the person refuses to take the animal back out of CA. They cannot just take a ferret and gas it without allowing the person to take it back out of CA again. I have heard though about cases where the CA F&G HAS killed ferrets at the border and given the owner no chance to remove the animal from the state at all. Such people do have a case in court and can sue the F&G for oversteping their bounds. DO NOT let the F&G harrass you and report any harrassment to CDFA or some other organization that can keep track of this and use it as evidence that the CA F&G is not working as it should. Note that the CA F&G are allowed to carry weapons and act as police, but have none of the training of a law enforcment official. I've heard of cases where the F&G has threatened and harrassed indiviuals in the past and WE MUST NOT allow this to happen! Our tax dollars pay these people and they should not have the right to behave like little KGB agents. They should stick to the job of selling deer tags and leave domestic ferrets and other exotic pets alone. [Posted in FML issue 1195]