The latest from LegalizeFerrets.org View this email in your browser October 14th, 2016 Click Here to Donate Five Bucks Happy Five Dollar Ferret Friday

We Have Some News The News Is...



Erin Chappell, the wildlife adviser for the Fish and Game Commission called me on Wednesday and explained their concerns with what is going on with ferrets. Relax, we can get through this.



First - if the Commission votes to remove ferrets from the prohibited species list they lose the ability to regulate them. How would we/they ensure the provisions such as mandatory spaying and neutering, the $100 license fee, etc.go into effect? She said they might have to get a legislator involved (groan). Everyone knows ferrets are domestic animals and shouldn't be under the jurisdiction of the Fish and Game Commission. They should be under Department of Agriculture. But they aren't.



Secondly - the Environmental Report does list concerns of ferrets being released into the wild. Here is what the report we commissioned says: Conclusion

It appears improbable that domestic ferrets could establish feral colonies in California, given the risks of ferrets themselves being prey. While individual ferrets might survive up to a few weeks in the wild, they are very unlikely to survive longer than that. Despite the lack of documented examples, the possibility cannot be excluded that escaped ferrets might do significant damage to wildlife, such as ground-nesting birds, and possibly including endangered species, during a period up to a few weeks of survival, even without establishing continuing colonies.



Ongoing releases or escapes of domestic ferrets might replenish the population in the wild, even if the animals were not reproducing, and this could contribute to a continuing hazard to wildlife. Ferrets would be less likely to pose a hazard of ‘going feral’ if (1) sales of ferrets within California were limited to licensed breeders and suppliers; (2) ferrets were required to be spayed or neutered (possibly with a registration requirement to encourage compliance); (3) any pet ferret brought into the state (not purchased from a recognized, in-state breeder or supplier) were required to be spayed or neutered (and registered, if appropriate); and (4) a public education campaign were conducted within the State to inform Californians of proper care for ferrets, including the importance of keeping them indoors or under proper supervision when outdoors, and the requirement that they be spayed or neutered. No one can predict with certainty whether ferrets would damage native wildlife in California. California Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist Ronald Jurek noted that even 20 years ago, the red fox, which was introduced into the state (though not as a domestic animal) a century ago, was not viewed as a threat, although it has clearly become one since.” (pages 4-5, Umbach 1997) Keep in mind - THERE ARE NO FERAL FERRETS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. There are feral ferret polecat hybrids in New Zealand and the Shetland Islands. Our Environmental Report does say ferrets could only go feral on an island ecosystem with an abundance of prey and and absence of predators.



We should see the staff's recommendation any day now. We are only asking for them to grant further consideration to our request. It requires further study. Expect them to insist we hire a wildlife biologist to address the issue above. We can do that. And if we can prove there are no feral ferrets (and we can) expect to come out of this successful.



Expect a lot more information in Sunday's CLIFFNotes. Thank you!



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