Saturday, April 2, is National Ferret Day, but there will not be much celebration in California. The Golden State and Hawaii are the only states to ban domesticated ferrets. This heavy-handed government policy dates to 1933 and is based on myths and misconceptions about the perceived threat to the environment posed by ferrets and differences between domestic and wild ferrets.

Ferrets have long been domesticated for companionship, hunting (particularly for rabbits) and for rodent control. Their domestication goes back at least 2,500 years, and these animals are distinct from wild ferrets and related species, which include weasels and polecats. They do not do well at all in the wild, so fears that they will escape or be released and form roving hordes of invasive, feral ferrets appear to be quite far-fetched, especially considering that, after all these years, this has yet to surface as a problem in the 48 states that permit domestic ferrets.

“It’s like calling your poodle a wolf,” Pat Wright, who heads up LegalizeFerrets.org, contended in a newsletter last year.

“They’re legal almost everywhere, and there’s never been a problem with domesticated ferrets anywhere, period,” Mr. Wright said in an interview. “When was the last time you read an article about a ferret attack, feral ferrets or anything negative about ferrets?”

That has not stopped government crackdowns from seizing pet ferrets at state agricultural inspection stations or based on tips from the public, like the case of the Santa Ana man who was arrested and had 16 ferrets confiscated in June despite the fact that his ferrets were described as a “bright, playful” bunch, and “appeared to be in good condition and had an ample supply of food and water and toys, including a tiny hammock,” a Register report noted.

Ferrets make great pets for those willing to properly care for them. They are very social, playful, affectionate, curious and oftentimes a bit mischievous. About the most harm a ferret could do is bite, but their bites are no worse or more frequent than those of a cat.

Other common pets are much more dangerous, but the state has not seen fit to ban them. Cats can transmit bacterial infections (cat scratch fever) and toxoplasmosis, a particular threat to fetuses in pregnant women. There are roughly 4.5 million dog bites each year, resulting in an average of 20-30 deaths, but that doesn’t mean the government should keep people from having dogs.

LegalizeFerrets.org proposed a legalization ballot measure this year that would require ferrets to be spayed or neutered prior to sale in stores and receive annual rabies vaccinations. Owners would pay a $100 one-time license fee. It generated about 10,000 signatures, but the shoestring campaign budget was not enough to get the issue before voters.

Legislators have generally ignored the pet owners’ plight, and some have even pooh-poohed the issue, claiming it is not a serious concern. That is rich, coming from a Legislature that in just the past two years has advanced measures to ban universities and schools from using “Redskins” for their names and mascots, adopt a resolution condemning Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, prohibit high school and middle school football teams from holding more than two full-contact practices per week and permanently lift a ban on the importation of kangaroo products from Australia.

It is no joke that people are just as attached to their pet ferrets as they are to their pet dogs and cats. The state’s ban is needlessly denying that companionship, or ensuring that ferret owners must always fear a knock on the door from government agents because a nosy neighbor or spiteful friend or relative tattled on them.

Ferrets are not a threat to the environment and are no more dangerous than cats. Maintaining a ban on domesticated ferrets is capricious, cruel and unfair. The ban should be lifted immediately so that next year Californians will truly have something to celebrate on National Ferret Day.