Reading Bob's very interesting history and scientific information today, brought to mind some related questions I've had about the history of ferrets in the US, questions which were also reinforced New Years Eve at a party we had at our house. At the party we had about 15 people ranging in age from teens to 70's. We noticed that the older (60's and 70's) people were quite leery of our ferret because they remember ferrets being raised for hunting rats and rabbits. As a matter of fact my grandfather used ferrets for hunting (60+ years ago, probably) and my father does not have fond memories. He enjoys watching our ferret but doesn't want to get very near her. At the younger end of the age range, they all seemed to be familiar with ferrets & really enjoyed our ferret. (And EVERYONE loved the ferret calendar!) In between, for people between about age 25 to 55 or so, most people were not familiar with ferrets and most had never seen one until they met ours. Does this fit in with ferret history in the USA? When did ferrets (and hunting with them) start becoming illegal and how many states eventually had laws outlawing ferrets? When did this start turning back around and what were the reasons? In the US, is keeping ferrets strictly as companion animals relatively new in their long history? [Posted in FML issue 1436]