"Badgers? We don't need no steenkin' badgers!"
Posted on 02/16/2016 10:05:55 AM PST by nickcarraway
Pat Wright loves ferrets — a forbidden love in California, where owning the animals has been illegal since 1933. The state's complex ecosystem and ferrets' outlaw reputation as chicken killers make the weasel-like creature verboten here and in Hawaii.
Like many ferret owners whose malfeasance gets reported to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wright says he's paid a high price for his pets. He's served 17 days in a maximum security prison, performed 300 hours of community service, and shouldered civil lawsuits, all because he refuses to quit his decades-long crusade to grant ferrets the same legal standing as dogs and housecats.
California ferret lovers circulated a petition to qualify ferret legalization for the 2016 ballot, but with only 10,000 signatures gathered, they fell far short of the 365,880 required. Their next move, Wright says, is to form a Super PAC of ferret lobbyists, and recruit politicians sympathetic to their cause. (So far, nobody has endorsed them.)
Momentum is slow-going, because ferret owners prefer to remain anonymous. Few will out themselves for fear of agents raiding their homes, as happened to Wright in San Diego.
Still, the Bay Area chapter of the Golden State Ferret Society boasts about a dozen dedicated members — whose last names and addresses are secret to Donna Hazelwood, the society's vice president.
"We don't tell anybody we can't trust. We don't tell neighbors," she says. "But my ferrets are the only things I'd go to jail for."
Can’t own badgers................They don’t come when you call them..................
Maj. Frank Burns frowns on this
"Badgers? We don't need no steenkin' badgers!"
“You tell ‘em Ferret Face!”
Ive had neighbors who had these. Aren’t they basically a wild animal?
Domesticated ferrets are bred at large farms like Marshall Farms in New York state. High school students are paid to play with the kits (baby ferrets) to make them good pets. You can tell a Marshall Farms ferret by the one or two blue dots tattooed on the right ear.
We had a number of ferrets when our kids were younger and they make great pets. They are easily litterbox trained and will come when called. They love to be held and cuddled, and will play with toys just like a cat.
Domestic ferrets do not do well in the wild if they get loose. They do not know how to catch food on their own and will often starve to death. Lost ones have been known to show up at another house wanting to be let in.
Back in the 60’s when I was doing construction during the summers, there was an electrician who had trained a ferret to pull a line through long runs of conduit to then pull wires through.
He would put some food at the end of the run where he wanted the ferret to come out, and then put the ferret in the other end. The ferret would always find the food, even if they were several branch-offs along the way.
"I have a ferret.....................
Named Stinker.................."- Red Badger
Appropriately named! I had two ferrets as pets back in the early '80's. One was albino, and a good mouser. The other was sable with gender identification issues. After three vet visits, 2 declared it male, one vet declared it female. Within months the poor thing became lethargic and eventually died. Turns out it was a female in heat. It was only then we learned that unless females mate or are neutered, they will remain in heat and eventually wither and die.
As pets they can be quite entertaining...but whoa, can they stink! Jealous creatures, they.
Around the same time and with vet caring for our ailing ferret, we adopted an abandoned 8 day old Doberman and nursed her to health.
When bathing the excitable pup one day, I closed the door to the bathroom to keep distractions at bay.
Seeking attention, the sable ferret flattened out and managed to squeeze under the door (carpet on outside, tile inside threshold gave the extra inch leeway). The pup in the tub caught sight of the ferret climbing up my side and immediately started to jump out of tub forcing me back while the ferret grabbed hold of my ear by her teeth and dropped hanging from my ear. I yelped in pain hoping for help to quickly arrive while using both hands to keep wet pup from attacking the ferret hanging from my ear only to discover, I locked the bathroom door which remained out of my reach.
That means Trump’s hair will now be legal in California - good news for him I’m sure.
THAT was a funny story!! What a comical movie it would make, sans the pain from the ear. It’s a story online with the man who was riding a motorcycle and ended up with a squirrel in his helmet, and the other story about the man who tazed himself.
Thanks for a great morning giggle, and I’m sorry about your ear. Did everybody survive?
California:
Muslims and illegal aliens, welcomed with open arms.
Ferrets, don’t even think about it.
Cool story & facts, thanks! : )
Pain dictated that I give up on keeping the pup in the tub to relieve my ear while unlocking the door for rescue. The pup ran out and soaked the walls, carpet and us...the ferret dove under the sofa...more on that!
We did not realize the ferret liked to nest inside the sofa until we came home one day to witness a nightmare disaster. The house was strewn with fibres which obviously originated from inside the sofa. Fibres were clinging to the ceiling fan (this was in Florida), some in the vertical blinds and on the textured walls - a monumental mess! Obvious because of a gaping hole chewed through the center cushion of the sofa---extending all - all the way down, through the carpet to the concrete foundation (we rented this house).
Apparently our dobie discovered she could slide under the accordian gate which was installed to keep her restrained in the kitchen area. The Dobie was likely hunting the ferret - who remained caged in our bedroom behind a closed bedroom door as she was ill.
Assessing the damage, we tipped the sofa on it's back, hearing a bit of clanking, like loose screws/coins tossing about, and saw the thin black fabric stapled to the bottom frame of the sofa had stains and slight scratching tears in each corner. Since there was a gaping hole in the center, we tore the thin black fabric off, discovering the ferret obviously used the shelter of this cavernous space as it's nest when left to roam a couple of hours a day while we were home and the dog was outside. Pet toys, bottle caps, and lost miscellany were found - stashed by our pack-rat hoarding ferret.
We had to replace the furniture (our own) as well as the decade old wall to wall carpet which could not be repaired/matched (landlord's).
All in all, yes ferrets can be adorable, stinky but adorable and affectionate pets. They can also be costly because of health issues as well as because of damage they can create by scenting/marking their owner's abode with their malodorous musk &/or damage caused by their natural urge to tunnel into furniture.
It's been quite some time since we've had ferrets, but it is my understanding that they can be de-scented (is that a word?) now.
Or you could just get a cat. :-)
Or you could just get a cat. :-)
We have two cats (16yrs & 5 yrs) and a dog...thank you. Sadly, just learned today that my 3 year old lhasa-poo has glaucoma and is already going blind.
I'm sure it's mongi.
Do Burmese Pythons eat ferrets?
Only one way to find out.
What if you don’t actually “own” the Ferret, but you have one living in your home as an “undocumented guest worker”?
i watched a show on plastic surgery about 3 years ago.
The patient was a young teen who, while a child, had the lower part of her face chewed off by her parent’s ferrets. it was truly terrible damage!
I used to wonder why they were illegal. They are such cute little things. But, I guess apparently they can do big damage.
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