Legalize Ferrets in front of the California Department of Fish and Game,...

Santee PetSmart Last Minute Signature Gathering

January 13th, 2010

We REALLY Need Help This Weekend – Last Minute Signature Gathering Effort
I apologize for sending out three emails in three days on this subject – but we’re making progress with our signature gathering effort this weekend in front of the Santee PetSmart-

We will be there from 9 to 5 both Saturday and Sunday. The goal is to get 500 signatures asking 77th District Assemblyman Brian Jones to sponsor a ferret legalization bill. The bill has to be introduced by January 28th or we are out of luck for another year. We’ve worked really hard to find a sponsor without any luck so far.

Santee PetSmart
9896 Mission Gorge Rd
Santee, CA 92071

We’re hoping this show of grassroots support will convince him to do it. We were able to borrow this ferret costume and he or she will be holding a sign:

We’ll have a table and chairs, I’ve got lots of clipboards, literature, I’ll bring the calendars, Jami is going to try to bring balloons. I’m hoping it will be festive. Feel free to make your own signs and bring them.

Ideally, we’d like at least three people there at a time – with one in the ferret costume. Are there any hams among us? (you need to be on the smaller side to fit into the costume – how about drafting your kids?)



If we can fill up the schedule – so far with only two people (?!) I’ll invite the media and see if we can get some press coverage. I wouldn’t be surprised if a TV station or newspaper covered the event. That will really drive the message to Assemblyman Brian Jones.
Can you spare an hour or two this weekend? For the little guy?!



Please call me and take a slot.
Pat Wright
619-303-0645
cell – 619-757-7426

Legalize Ferrets Request to California Fish and Game Commission, Dec 16,...

My Email to Assemblyman Brian Jones

I just sent this out, has some good points for people when they contact their representative.

Hi Gail –

Thank you for taking my call and your hospitality. Boy there is a lot of information below! So I better ask at the top – we are requesting a meeting with Assemblyman Jones on the ferret issue. The 77th Assembly District is probably one of the top three in terms of the ferret population.

Briefly, we’ve been fighting the ferret ban for twenty years. In 2000 the Fish and Game Commission said we needed an EIR before they would even consider the issue.

As an aside, it is interesting the city of San Diego demanded an EIR from Walmart super centers as a way to keep those giant Walmarts out of San Diego.

In September our preliminary EIR was completed. It is online at http://ferretsanon.com/EIR/Final_Report.pdf The Fish and Game Commission has not yet reacted to it, except for President Jim Kellogg saying ferret owners are breaking the law and need to be punished. (we’re putting that on YouTube.)

Another note – I just got a phone call from a man who bought his girl friend two ferrets. The girl friend is in a nasty child custody dispute. The ex already complained about their dog, now they have to get the ferrets out of the house.

The report basically discusses the arguments against ferret legalization:

• Ferrets Will Go Feral
All of the ideal conditions for establishment of a feral ferret population have not yet been met in California: a moderate climate, a superabundance of preferred prey, a community devoid of competitors and predators, and repeated introductions of large founder populations. (page 63)

• Ferrets As a Treat to Agriculture
The literature documents that ferrets may have impacted European poultry production, especially in the late 19th and early 20th century. The literature is largely devoid of any instances of ferrets impacting agricultural resources in the USA. USA has, for the most part, phased out household poultry and egg production and now relies almost exclusively on commercial facilities (confined animal feeding operations); these facilities may be better protected from predators than traditional domestic hen houses and coops. Questionnaires of agricultural departments in the USA has not revealed any major opposition to ferrets; where agricultural agency personnel have responded negatively to ferret legalization, their concerns focused on the risk of ferrets biting humans or on the risk of ferrets establishing feral breeding populations, and not on the impact of agricultural resources. This issue may not need to be analyzed further in the EIR. (page 95)

• Public Health Issues
The medical community and various State agencies have reversed their stance on rabies issues pertaining to ferrets, from emphatic statements in the 20th century that ferrets are not appropriate pets because of their proclivity to bite and the absence of effective vaccines, to neutral statements in the 21st century that ferrets should receive rabies vaccinations like other household pets. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that currently, at least in the USA, rabies is a rare disease and is relegated largely to non-pet vectors. The vaccination of ferrets for rabies (and distemper) could be made mandatory, regardless of whether ferret ownership is legal or illegal in California. Ferrets sold after about 12 weeks of age should be vaccinated before sale. For those sold before 12 weeks of age, the new owner could be required to show proof of rabies vaccination by a certain time, such as 13 weeks of age. Every effort should be made to prevent ferrets from escaping confinement; any stray or feral ferret captured could be mandatorily held in quarantine until it is indicated that they are free of rabies. Public education and outreach should also be implemented. Provided that effective mitigation measures are incorporated into a legalization action, this potential impact upon human health could be reduced to a less-than significant level. This issue may not need to be analyzed further in the EIR. (page 100)

The Economic Impacts of the ferret ban

We know from the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council that Californians spend $5,500,000 on ferrets annually which means the state collects about $400,000 each year in sales tax revenue. How much more would be spent if ferrets were legal? I don’t think there is any accurate way to answer the question.

But – we also know that 70 to 80% of the ferrets sold in Nevada, Arizona and Oregon are intended for the California Market.

We know that Marshall Ferrets sells about 150,000 ferrets annually and they produce 70% of the ferrets in this country (back yard breeding is pretty limited for ferrets, most states where they are legal require them to be sold sterilized, and ferrets have unusually husbandry – both male and female must be in season, and intact ferrets smell too bad to be household pets)

What We Know
150,000 Marshall Ferret Production
70% Marshall Share of the Pet Ferret Market
195,000 Total Ferret Production in the USA

Californians buy 27% of the nation's ferret supplies
52,650 27% of annual ferrets sold in the USA
26,325 Reduce by half to be conservative
$ 150 Average Retail Price of a ferret
$ 3,948,750 Total retail value of ferrets sold going to California
$ 306,028.13 California sales tax at 7.75%
$ 306,028.13 Does not include cost of goods sold; cages, food, bedding, toys, etc which can be 1 to 2 x the cost of the ferret
$ 612,056.26 Lost sales tax revenue

Also, does not include lost revenue to the veterinarians. And because people are afraid to take their ferrets to the vet, vets who treat ferrets often times charge considerably more.

Bad Response From Senator Pavley

A member has forwarded a response from Senator Pavley regarding sponsoring a ferret legalization bill. It is not good news but perhaps it is the start of a dialogue.
________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your letter concerning legalizing ferrets in California. The last time the legislature dealt with this topic was in 2004 with Senate Bill 89. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 89 (Alpert), for two reasons. First, he was concerned with the risks of ferrets living in the wild. Second, he wanted to make sure that California’s environmental laws, including the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), were followed. CEQA requires an environmental study before state actions are taken that could have a significant effect on the environment.

Note: We sent Senator Pavley the preliminary EIR which documents why domestic ferrets cannot establish in the wild.

Current law requires an evaluation by the Department of Fish and Game. Governor Schwarzenegger made this specific point in his veto message of SB 89. To view the veto message you may visit www.sen.ca.gov and type SB 89 into the search engine.

As the chair the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, I am aware of the budget cuts that have been made at the Department of Fish and Game and the strong likelihood that this department will acquire even more cuts in the ongoing legislative session. In this economic downturn, it is unlikely that California can find funds for an environmental impact report on the effects of legalizing ferret ownership.

Note: No one asked for an EIR. The Fish and Game Commission changed their position in 2005 and created a specific policy entitled MISCELLANEOUS POLICIES
INTRODUCTION OF NON-NATIVE SPECIES which does not call for the EIR/CEQA

Thank you again for your correspondence. Please do not hesitate to contact my office for future questions or concerns, (916) 651-4023.


Thank you,



Fran Pavley
State Senator, District 23

Arnold Sucked

I was more than saddened by Governor Schwarzenegger's commuting the prison sentence for Esteban Nuñez's prison sentence. Here we have a murderer - someone who attacked three other people - and that is the plea Arnold heard on his way out. Oh yeah, his father was speaker of the California Assembly. That might have made a difference.

We asked Governor Schwarzenegger to commute the sentence of California ferrets. Over his 7 years as Governor we sent multiple appeals, thousands of signatures, phone calls. Not one even got an answer.

Arnold wasn't much "for little guy" but for the politically connected he came through, even at the expense of our perception of a fair and impartial government.

The point is it is hard to take this seriously. Where is the fairness and access? There hasn't been any and we all suffer.

Glad the bastard is gone. Don't buy his upcoming book.

Need to be Punished, Need to be Punished

Yesterday was a surreal day in front of the Fish and Game Commission. I thought we did an excellent job documenting our case in asking the Commission follow their own guidelines in delisting ferrets from the prohibited species list. I did feel intimidated, I had the feeling the Commission looks down on the issue. But I did ok.

At the end, President Jim Kellogg started to talk. At first I held out hope that my facts and figures impressed him. Instead he took a bizarre turn.

He mentioned shopping at pet stores and seeing the photos of ferret supplies just like in my powerpoint presentation. Then he said "it really annoys me that they can sell that stuff in a state where ferrets are illegal."

And next was the truly bizarre part, he said "ferret owners need to be punished."

Today, one day later I'm cleaning house. It is the time of week I get to spend the most time with the ferrets. They are downstairs in forbidden territory pulling the soles out of Jim's expensive shoes. A better time could not be had.

They are healthy and happy. I worry about my eldest, Fausto. Ferrets don't live that long and Fausto is getting up there.

And darn it, I have this rap song in my head... "need to be punished, need to be punished..."

We will put Mr. Kellogg's statements up in YouTube. Perhaps we can make a rap version. Maybe we'll even go viral.