Domestic Ferret Legalization Efforts

UPDATED 3/29/07 Field Poll Results - Sadly, the Field Poll results to determine whether a ballot initiative should be filed came back with only a 38% positive result. This isn't a positive enough result to risk proceding with the ballot initiative. This was the hopeful "hot ticket" to legalization that many had hoped for, and many in the ferret enthusiast community banded against. For now, there is no effort currently active in the state of California to attempt legalization of the domestic ferret.

For whatever reason, California won’t budge on this issue. Ballot initiative supporters believe that a ballot initiative is the best hope of moving this issue forward and achieving legalization. After all, the premise is simple: Domestic Ferrets are domestic animals. Domestic animals are legal in California, but why not ferrets? If you have ever driven out of state to buy a pet, avoided a checkpoint, kept your furry friends hidden from neighbors or your landlord, or avoided telling a friend or co-worker that you have pets, then the ferret ban has touched your life in a very personal way. Think about how much effort you have expended to keep your ferrets safe from the government. Imagine how much energy you will continue to waste if the ferret ban is allowed to remain in place. We ask that you remain positive that some day we will still be able to get rid of this unfair, discriminatory law.

**The 3,000 Club was established to gather signatures for a possible ballot initiative to declare ferrets domestic animals in California. (They already know this in 48 other U.S. states, but California doesn't "get it"). Since the ballot initiative idea has been scrapped, the future of The 3,000 Club is likely to lean towards public awareness. It is our thinking that if we'd all done a better job of making others aware of the actual nature of domestic ferrets, that we would have happy & legal animals in this state by now. Think of all of the added exposure that has been gained by The 3,000 Club, and how much more can still be done. Don't be dismayed too much, we all have a whole lot more to do in the coming years. For information on the 3,000 Club - please visit The 3,000 Club

AB 647

(Dead bill as of 8/23/06) An act to amend Section 2118 of, and to add Sections 2118.1 and 2188 to, the Fish and Game Code, and to amend Section 121790 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to wild animals. - Existing law prohibits the importation into this state of wild animals specified on a list published by the State Department of Health Services without a permit issued by that department, except that existing law does not authorize the importation, transportation, or possession of live animals enumerated in specified provisions of the Fish and Game Code or regulations of the Fish and Game Commission adopted pursuant thereto. Those existing provisions of the Fish and Game Code prohibit the importation, transportation, possession, or release into this state of certain wild animals without a permit issued by the Department of Fish and Game.

This bill would have allowed domestic ferrets to be owned as pets without a permit if the owner of a ferret maintains, and can produce, documentation showing that the ferret has been vaccinated against rabies with a vaccine approved for use in ferrets by the United States Department of Agriculture and administered in accordance with the recommendations of the vaccine manufacturer and if the ferret is spayed or neutered, as specified.

Legalization Information Links:

• The Text of the Domestic Ferret Act of 2006
• The Complete Text of Assembly Bill 647 (AB 647)