Some info I received on Mpls ferret status responding to "RE: Mpls not FFZ" from prior FML. I have permission to post excerpts of it. Mainly it is intact only a little taken out. >The reason animal control will tell you this crap is because either a). >They really don't know any better and have been told this for so long they >think it is true. or b). because people will believe it when a person of >authority tells them something. If people voluntarilly surrender or remove >their animals from the city when they are told to it is an easy way for the >city to accomplish it's goal. >If you ask any public health or animal control officer in MPLS they will >tell you it is illegal to own a ferret in MPLS, (not true, it is illegal to >own a wild animal), that if you are walking down the street with your pet >ferret in a cage any police, public health, or animal control officer has >the right to immediately sieze and destroy the animal (not true, ferret >owners have the basic right to due process of law as everyone else), and >that if your ferret bites it must be killed and tested with no exceptions >(not true, mpls city code 66.40 c states "any other animal which has bitten >any person and caused an abrasion or puncture of the skin shall be siezed >and impounded under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian or at the >city contract kennel for a period of not less than ten (10) days. If, after >a complete examination by a veterinarian; the animal has no clinical sign of >rabies, the animal may, with the approval of the commissioner of health, be >released to the owner.) Unfortuantely, you get people like former >commissioner of health, Jerry Thelen who make statements like "I don't care >what the law says this is our policy". So it is up to Mpls residents to >bear down and assert and demand their rights. >As for the city classifying ferrets as wild animals, bull! They can call a >ferret a wild animal if they want. They can call a refrigerator a >helicopter too. But they's never get it off the ground. The courts have >long realized that Man cannot make a law which contradicts natural fact. >Mpls cannot make a law that says, as of Jan. 1 water will be rquired to run >up hill and then actually expect to issue tickets to those whose water won't >cooperate. You cannot with the stroke of a pen make a wild animal out of a >man-made breed which does not exist in the wild anywhere in the world. I >remember one case... [ snip ] where the city wrote a ticket to a >ferret owner for "illegal possesion of a wild or dangerous animal." >When asked which way they were going to prosecute it, as a wild >animal or a dangerous animal, they asked what difference it made. >...It made a difference as to which 200 pages of data would be >supplied to the defense. They said they'd get back... They never did. >At the pre-trial they offered to drop the whole thing if the ferret owner >would agree to not have any further "ferret-related" animal control >violations. As far as the ordinance being only a guideline: wrong an >ordinance is the law. There is a legal term called "black letter law" which >means something which is specifically written. This specifically states >wild animals or dangerous animals which are defined elsewhere. They have no >such discretionary powers unles it is written into the law that they exist. >And I don't find them anywhere. If you force the issue they will back down >and admit that they really don't have the authority... [ snip ] >If the case you describe is the Jennifer Smalley case I am intimately >familiar with it... [ snip ] >The judge ordered the animal held the rquired 10 days and that there be a >hearing to determine if the facts warranted testing the animal... >They filed the next day an emergency order to allow them to proceed because >of iminent danger to the public health. They convinced the judge to allow >them to prepare the ferret for testing, not telling the judge that the >preperation was to decapitate and remove brain samples. While ... filing >the appeals Jerry Thelen literally called and ordered the ferret destroyed >immediately. He even had to go to an outside vet to have it done. >The Hennepin County Humane Society (and I use the term very loosely in their >case) is the only Humane Society or Animal Control facility in the twin >cities metro area that will not work with resue and adoption orgainzations. >Even Mpls animal control will cooperate with turning over strays as long as >they haven't bitten. Hennipen County HS euthanizes ferrets (and by the way >7 breeds of dogs including great danes) not because the law requires them >to (there is no such law and such a law has been ruled unconstituttional by >the Minn. Supreme Court) but because they are unsuitable as pets. It is my >belief that these people are not a humane society but rather a selective >shelter for those breeds they think are politically correct. I encourage >animal lovers to think about this before making any donations. Find out if >the money you're giving is really doing the kind of work you want. >My advice to ferret owners in Mpls is, (move to St. Paul) When confronted by >animal control, DON'T surrender the animal. Unless it has bitten they have >to legal right to impound. Inform them that you are aware that only a court >of law can deprive you of your property and that they are limited to issuing >a ticket (i believe it is a misdemeanor). They will first try to bully you >and tell you ferrets are illegal and that they have the right to confiscate >and destroy it. Let them know that you have read and understand the >ordinance and know they have no such authority. They will tell you you have >X-amount of days to get the animal out of the city or they will take >action. Tell them to write you a ticket and you'll see them in court. Then >contact the local group (MFA). [ snip ] I know there are people from MN on the list and so thought this might interest some... [Posted in FML issue 1403]