Not ventured into this thread before, but it's repeatedly popping up highlighted. Have to say I'm as puzzled as Laurelin; seems strange that this is suddenly an issue
now. Number of animals in PG's household had been in her forum sig for quite some time, with no previous objections that I can specifically recall.
Her sig does seem to have changed recently, but is that really due to her having "something to hide"? Or more likely changed due to her having been recently intimidated into changing it? (BTW ... those are entirely
rhetorical questions rather than attempts to further any debates.
)
Yeah, and? There are hundreds if not thousands of ferrets owned in California. And they are close to being legalized.
Well ... not exactly. There are grass-roots efforts to
get them legalized (most with internet presence), but it's not true that ferrets are "close to being legalized". Many are circulating petitions. But past petitions on ferret legalization have been completely ignored by California officials, so one has to wonder why anyone's bothering with more petitions. One road block the state put up to the various grass-roots was a requirement that they pay for an independent Environmental Impact Report, before legalization would even be considered.
One of the largest private groups did in fact recently raise enough donations, Legalize Ferrets Organization (
Legalize Ferrets in California CA ) They have since,
at their own expense, commissioned an independent university group to do an EIR. But that EIR has not yet been completed, although initial reports are promising.
Once complete, there's still no guarantee that ferrets will be legalized. It's more likely the state imposed that condition in the first place with the thought that private ferret owners would never be able to raise enough money to fund a properly independent study. Well, they did. But once the EIR is finished and even if completely favorable to ferrets, it's still possible the state may again refuse legalization. Remember, the state only said they'd
consider legalization if an independent EIR was favorable, not that the condition being met would lead to any
certainty of legalization.
It's kind of a moot point for anyone to object to the fact that PG
has ferrets, solely on the grounds that "but they're illegal". True, but the fact is that legal or not, they're already there and have plenty of company. There are estimates that possibly up to 500,000 ferrets are owned by Californians. Also, pet supply stores in California
openly sell many ferret care supplies. Anyone in this thread who does not live in or near California obviously has no knowledge of that fact, but CA state officials know about it and have never tried to prohibit sale of those items. So it does seem California is certainly sending its residents mixed messages!
PG, for yourself though it's very important that you know your rights should an ACO, Fish & Game warden, or police officer come knocking on your door regarding your ferrets. Here's a list enumerating your rights:
Know Your Rights
PG, I do hope you know your rights because there
have been instances of neighbors and other disgruntled individuals (usually for reasons other than the ferrets) who have turned in persons in CA owning them.
In one recent case in Sutter County, a litte girl was talking to her friend at school about her family's two pet ferrets. Another little girl who was eavesdropping on the conversation and happened to "not like" the first girl
for completely different reasons decided to be a spiteful little b!tch and report the first girl's family for owning ferrets. Police and an ACO showed up in the family's driveway; the family was fined and given 30 days to rehome their ferrets to a neighboring state where they are legal. THAT is what Juicy is talking about, and it can happen.
But do note on the enumerated rights page that as part of "probable cause" on the required warrant, the full name(s) of the person(s) complaining regarding your ferrets
must appear on the warrant, and you have the right to read the entire warrant. So you would know exactly who it was, and if you felt it was largely due to harassment and you had other instances to show harassment from that same person(s), then you would certainly have the right to pursue harrassment charges against that person(s). California has pretty strict laws against harassment and stalking.
Actually I do speed. Never gotten a ticket thought. I do roll through stop signs (Who doesn't? Its not called the California Roll for no reason lol).
Well if you're in the habit of doing that, advisable to change your habits should you ever decide to travel northeast and cross the CA border. You WILL get a ticket over here. In this area the local constables very well know the "California Roll" ... in fact some municipalities around here (Glenbrook, Crystal Bay, Zephyr Cove, Incline Village) make quite a tidy sum ticketing CA drivers.
Some residents around here don't like the ski and lake tourists coming from CA, exactly because of their poor driving habits. But I for one hope ya'll keep on coming back!! The funds provided by all your traffic fines helps keep our local taxes down. :rofl1:
