Anonymous posted about unlicensed shelters in NJ. Fuzztek Shelter, who I am part of, is one of the few licensed shelters in this state. We pay our permit fee every year, have our inspections, give out 20 day permits and the application for a permanent license to adopters, keep careful records of all ferrets that come in and go out, etc., plus spends hours on the phone and in person educating ferret owners, giving info in bite cases, and giving vet referrals. I was only aware of one other licensed shelter in NJ, and I don't think you are it. Please feel free to e-mail me directly, as I would like to know who you are so that perhaps we could do some work together. At any rate, to the point. We have long lamented over what to do about these rogue shelters. Yes, we have also heard the comments about the filth, lack of medical care and horrid conditions, particularly with one in the Northern part of the state and one in the central part of the state. In one case we were able to get into the shelter and help the operator clean up. They have since decided that sheltering wasn't for them , and are in the process of giving away all ferrets to good homes. We have picked up the tab for medical care on a couple ferrets in particularly bad condition that were turned over to us by them. One shelter in this state, who is unlicensed, actually had the nerve to allow an article printed about their work, including giving medical treatment and dispensing FEDERALLY CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES to people who asked for help in a major newspaper. This same person has recently asked for financial support from the FML and several businesses, claiming that some of these ferrets haven't been vaccinated or seen a vet for two or more years. Off the top of my head I can identify about a dozen folks who call themselves shelters in this state. I know of two with licenses. I know that between them all, there have to be over 400 ferrets. The two I am aware of that are licensed have about 125 of these ferrets. So, the dilemna then becomes what would happen to all of these ferrets if Fish and Game shut down the shelter? I know that we are again full (I don't even have a spare cage to house a ferret in - if I get an emergency call it will have to go into a large dog carrier). There is no way we could take in that many, or even a part of the ferrets confiscated from unlicensed shelters. We also can not financially take on the cost of shipping them to other shelters. We keep our heads above water financially as we are blessed with a vet who allows us to run a tab when needed, and gives us a HUGE break on costs. We also get unsolicited cash donations at times, which we request be made directly to our vet. But I digress... We have found that the best way of dealing with it is to make all attempts to educate shelters that they need to be licensed (I urged one such person who is on the FML to do so a year or more ago, I don't know if they have yet, but tend to think not). We also make ourselves available for advice on negotiating a deal with a vet, finding ways to cut costs without cutting quality of care, etc. Of course if any FML'ers have other ideas, I would love to hear them. And by the way, for any unlicensed shelters in NJ, there is a minimum $500, maximum $5000 fine PER FERRET for any ferret you sell/adopt out if you are unlicensed. So if you have adopted out 5 ferrets this year, you could be liable for $2500 or more in fines. Please, please, please, get a license. If you don't feel that you could pass the inspection, perhaps you need to rethink the level of care you are giving or able to give, and either figure out how to improve, or stop sheltering. If you are a shelter in NJ and in need of help of any sort, please e-mail me privately. I will make every attempt to hook you up with volunteers to help care for the animals (I have people all over the state looking to help shelters), low cost spay nueter programs, vet referrals to vets that will give discounted care, etc. Anne Ryan [Posted in FML issue 2599]