Why R Ferrets illegal in Mass?
Jennifer Lapierre
Hi -
Ferrets are illegal in MA, CA, and HI. Does anyone know why? I heard it
has something to do with the fact that they were hunted, not because of
them being "dangerous."
- Curious Jenn
NICOLE GARDNER
>>- Curious Jenn
Ferrets were just legalized in Michigan and here the explaination was that
many years ago, domesticated ferrets were used by hunters (rabbit, I think) to
force the animals out of their holes for the hunters. This was considered an
unfair hunting practice and that is why breeding and keeping ferrets was made
illegal. In later years, when ferrets were kept only as pets, the reason for
not making them legal was the lack of an approved rabies vaccine. Many vets
would treat ferrets with feline rabies vaccine, but the state was concerned
that without a vaccine approved for ferrets the disease would spread. There
is now (as of last year I believe)an approved rabies vaccine for ferrets, and
that is why they have finally been legalized in Michigan. : )
There are probably ferret groups pushing for legalization in Mass. If your
interested, check them out and find out what the hold up is for legalization
in your state.
Nicole Gardner (msu-college of vet. med.)
John D. Cook
Lapierre) wrote:
: Hi -
: Ferrets are illegal in MA, CA, and HI. Does anyone know why? I heard it
: has something to do with the fact that they were hunted, not because of
: them being "dangerous."
: - Curious Jenn
I used to live in Mass and the reason is an old one, about 60 years ago
ferrets were used to hunt small game, mostly burrowing rabbits. They were so
good at it that many states banned hunting with ferrets by outlawing ferret
ownership. Thats why ferrets are illegal in Mass and used to be illegal
elsewhere.
I think the only reason they're still illegal in Mass is that nobody's
pushing their local legislators hard enough to get the senate to pass the
ferret legalization bill which already passed the house. In CA I think its
taken on the Radical anti-ferret people vs Anyone who opposes them and in
Hawaii its the "no outside animals" law, which is justified for an exotic
place like Hawaii.
Hope this helps.
-John C
--
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John David Cook | "Accomplishing difficult tasks is the | Build Robots,
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lmc...@delphi.com
sensitive area. I do think it's unfair to saddle the mongoose with
the responsibility for wiping out the bird population. The rats
brought by ships and the dogs, cats, and pigs brought by settlers
did much more damage to the birds directly and to the landscape.
Human hunters, too, deserve a good portion of blame.
That California uses the same argument as the delicate island
system is pretty preposterous. California has feral dogs, coyotes,
eagles, hawks, feral cats, feral pigs, peccaries, buzzards, owls,
and other such creatures not natively found on Hawaii, all of which
would make short work of our fearless but clueless domestic ferret.
About Mass: a previous poster took us to task about not
writing our senators and such. Believe me, there is a group working
on this. There just aren't a lot of us. We can use all the help we
can get. If you're a resident (don't even have to be a registered
voter), please write and call your State Senator--ask him/her to
support HB 295 by writing a letter to the Senate Ways and Means
Committee to get the bill out to the full Senate for a vote. If
you're curious about the bill's status or want to know how you
can help out, call the Mass Ferret Hotline at 617-224-1098. Please
feel free to e-mail me directly if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Lee
lmc...@delphi.com
ModFerret
>See, when people have a specific type of
>animal as a pet, that breed or species is almost always given the chance
>to live ferally ("wild") in the area, due to pet abandonment
> and runaways. If the species is a particularly good predator (like a
>mustellid), it is likely to wipe out fragile native species.
This doesn't hold true with the domestic ferret. There are no feral
populations of ferrets in the 47 states in which they are legal. Because
the females *must* be spayed if they are not bred (or they risk serious
health problems and death), ferrets that are abandoned or that run away
simply cannot establish colonies. (Also consider that the largest breeders
of ferrets are places like Marshall Farms or Path Valley -- which
neuter/spay the ferrets before they even leave the facility.) Ferrets
depend so heavily on humans that they are not able to survive more than a
few days in the wild (they may be mustelids, but they are a domestic
species). Since feral populations have not wiped out native species in the
47 states in which they're legal, it's hard to imagine they would do so in
CA. There is really no valid reason for keeping ferrets illegal anywhere
(except perhaps HI, which has several valid concerns about any non-native
animals). The complaints people make about ferrets are either unfounded
myths or they are the result of poor owner education. More effort should
be put into teaching people how to take care of these wonderful animals
than is put into trying to keep them out of a given state.
(That's what I think, anyway.)
Mary & the Furry Foursome
Mary R. Shefferman, Editor-in-Chief
Sabrina, Ralph, Marshmallow & Knuks, Ferrets-in-Residence
_MODERN FERRET--The Ferret Lifestyle Magazine_
Have Fun With Your Ferrets!!
Kristian Krause
ferrets are illeagal in CA because of the ignorance of certain people
that occupy our legislature. They believe that when ferrets get loose,
they will band together, form feral populations, and destroy the natural
ecosystem. They also believe they are dangerous and like to eat babies.
What they don't realize is that these are DOMESTIC ferrets, and, for all
intents and purposes, will not survive in the wild. Their coloring is
not helpful- theuy would be an instant raptor snack. Several ferrets
would have to get loose to do any damage, and most females are spayed
anyway since they will die if they are not bred every cycle. So, since
and intact female must pair up with an intact male or she dies, feral
populations are unlikely.
I am hoping that the ferret bill currently up in Mass passes. One less
ignorant state!!!
Kristi
Mark R. Zmyewski
>On 18 Sep 1995, Jennifer Lapierre wrote:
<First poster asked why ferrets are illegal in CA, MA, and HI>
>>Jenn--Usually when a small animal is illegal (e.g. gerbils and ferrets in
>California and other places) it is because its potential spread is a
>threat to native wilflife. See, when people have a specific type of
>animal as a pet, that breed or species is almost always given the chance
>to live ferally ("wild") in the area, due to pet abandonment
> and runaways. If the species is a particularly good predator (like a
>mustellid), it is likely to wipe out fragile native species. A good
>example of this is the mongoose, a mustellid brought to Hawaii by Cap'n
>Cook and his gang. They used mongooses for rat control on the
>ships...but a few disembarked when they stopped at Hawaii. The little
>devils have driven many of Hawaii's endemic bird species to extinction,
>with no end in sight. I believe the same story would be true if ferrets
>were able to colonize areas in which they are currently restricted. This
>is why it is imperative for pet owners to act responsibly, and neuter
>their pets, because it's impossible to predict what
>kind of damage feral animals can cause. misha
Well, this is why ferrets are illegal in places such as CA and MA...
misinformation/ignorance..(and I mean that in a *nice* way). :-)
Ferrets were domesticated approximately 500 years BEFORE cats.
In all of that time when have you heard of a colony of ferrets
forming?! You haven't! When we moved to a 10 acre farm when
I was in the fifth grade, we had to first get rid of the pack of
five dogs that had been living on the property (they were probably
abandoned). Right now in my present neighborhood, there is a
neighbor who has several cats that just roam at will around the
neighborhood, having kittens CONSTANTLY...yet I don't see any
legislation to outlaw cats due to them possibly displacing the
other animals. Whereas cats have maintained their predatory
nature, ferrets have not. Even if a pregnant female was released
into the woods, the chances of her survival are pretty slim. If, by
some miracle, she gave birth, I seriously doubt that any of the kits
would survive. The don't know how to hunt!
I wish that any of the people who support the banning of ferrets
would take to time to learn about them. There are shelters
that have ferrets that would loved to be owned by a nice person
and/or family. Once you've owned one and/or gotten to know
one, you realize that all of this legislation is pretty much
outdated, paranoid, and useless.
Oops! Gotta go! Just heard about another DOG mauling another
defenseless child! :-)
-Mark Zmyewski
Systems Analyst
Optimization Technology, Inc.
Huntsville, Alabama
