In response to Jeanne Carley's appeal for support from out-of-state groups, LIFE today has sent the following letter to Adam Werbach, President of Sierra Club: "Dear Mr. Werbach: "The League of Independent Ferret Enthusiasts, a national association of ferret clubs and shelters, is dismayed to learn of the position taken by Sierra Club California's William Craven on AB 363, the bill to legalize private ownership of domestic ferrets in the state. "According to Mr. Craven, Sierra opposes the bill because of "the risk that a feral population of a non-native species could become established in this state or that this species will predate upon other species in the state." It is difficult to see why Sierra would take such a position in the absence of factual evidence that a real threat exists. There has never been a confirmed instance of any feral population of ferrets in this country, despite the fact they are legal in 48 states and number an estimated 5 million in the U.S. "Ferrets in fact pose no threat to the environment: pet ferrets that escape owners' homes typically perish in less than a week from exposure, starvation, or predator attack. They simply no longer have the hunter and predator- avoidance instincts needed to survive on their own. "Moreover, the bill IS environmentally sound. AB 363 provides that only altered animals may be sold at retail outlets. Surely Mr. Craven understands that a self-sustaining feral population requires breeder animals, and altered ferrets could not breed even if they were to survive! "Sierra's opposition to this sensible bill does nothing for the environment and discredits the organization's pronouncements on other issues. It also needlessly antagonizes millions of ferret-owning Americans whom we and other ferret enthusiast groups must strongly encourage to remove Sierra from the list of causes worthy of their support. We urge you to reconsider." A similar letter has also been sent to Audubon. We strongly support CFL's appeal on this, and urge ALL ferret owners to take 5 minutes out & do something concrete to support legalization. The place to write to Sierra is: Adam Werbach, President Sierra Club 85 2nd St. San Francisco, CA 94105 For Audubon it's: John Flicker, President National Audubon Society 700 Broadway New York, NY 10003 Let's let these organizations know that we ferret owners will be voting with our pocket books. Howard Davis Humane Affairs Coordinator League of Independent Ferret Enthusiasts [Posted in FML issue 1917]