Well, I think I have officially joined the fray regarding ferrets in CA. I'm on another mailing list for wildlife rehabilitation, and someone had asked a question about the "ethics" of rehabbing and releasing non-native wildlife. And, some poor, misguided soul from CA wrote back stating that non-native wildlife were negatively affecting native wildlife - non-native wildlife including FERRETS! And this guy is a REHABBER! Someone asked about his criteria for determining non-nativeness, and he replied that the (guess who??) CA Fish and Game determined this by "damage already done by the species in question". I wrote back and gave him a mini-lesson on the chances of wild ferrets really existing (thank you, Bob), nicely, of course. I also asked him for any references and documentation he had on the subject. I have a sneaking suspicion he won't answer, since he probably doesn't have any, or someone he knows in CA F&G "told him", or some other ironclad, irrefutable source. But if he doesn't have any (credible) sources, then he made a serious tactical error in posting that. :) I just cannot abide stupidity and ignorance - especially when people cling so tightly to them. OK, I feel better now. Soapbox mode completed. Tanya p.s. I'll keep you posted. [Posted in FML issue 1780]