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Vol 3 No 12 • March 23rd, 2008
Happy Easter!!
Because today is Easter, and I know you are all busy. This will be a brief CLIFFNotes.
I'm happy to say since we've had so many sign ups this week a little review is in order.
LegalizeFerrets.org is behind an effort to file an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) which some in state government (including the Governor) have said is necessary for the issue of ferret legalization to move forward. The California Fish and Game Commission said only a CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) is necessary, even though a CEQA is not as thorough as an EIR. Previously we believed an EIR was out of our reach financially to do, but we found a donor and then discoverd the cost to be significantly lower than the typical EIR because ferrets don't do a number of things like drive cars, make noise, etc. - Hurray for us!
The brains behind our effort now believes neither is necesary - she believes Governor Schwarzenegger will be persuaded by the power of our initiail study. Others of us believe that a full blown EIR with every "i" dotted and "t" crossed will be necessary. My philosophy is whoever does the work gets the final vote. If I'm wrong, we'll save a lot of money, if I'm right we'll lose a little time.
Next Week - Ferrets Anonymous Will Have a New Board
Next Saturday the statewide Ferrets Anonymous will have their annual Round Up and elect a new board. The current board has been in place nearly ten years and we've never seen a lot of action on their part. Lance M is running for President, the only candidate who has announced. I hope this puts the ferret legalization efforts in California on the same front. A lot of California ferret people did not like the idea of a ballot initiative and worked to defeat it (including the outgoing board of FA) before our polling came out. Our polling showed a ballot initiative was not practical with only 38% of Californians saying they support ferret legalization and 54% opposed. We have not heard any negative comments about an EIR. I hope there will be a lot less duplication of effort from California ferret supporters.
For more information, visit http://ferretsanonymous.com/
Yahoo Group For Ferret Placement
I mentioned last week our adoption list is now quite long. There is a Yahoo Group to post if you wish to adopt - thank you to the three people who sent it in;
"The Yahoo group that helps Californians with finding people who are interested in either giving theirs up for adoption or getting is called CAFerretExch group. It is a forum that is moderated by the people behind California Ferret Rescue (CDFA). The trick is that you do have to sign up for a yahoo account and login before you have access to the message board where people post their needs. It’s a great place if you cannot get across the state lines. Hope this helps, T"
I also received this email and thought it was worth showing - but I would like to ad that we don't have rescue groups in California. And if people are going to drive out of state to buy a ferret, bringing in a ferret previously deported out of California puts the rescue organization and the ferret at risk.
Notable Documents Page Almost Complete
Check out our page at http://ferretsanon.com/notabledocuments.htm. We have posted most of the meaningful documents on California ferret legalization issues. There is one thing sadly missing. Last year someone sent me a video or link to a video of Governor Scharzenegger on the California Channel. He was doing a show when someone called in and asked him about ferret legalization. Does anyone still have that video or link?
Also, last week we listed the California Department of Health Survey and it was the most widely opened attachment we've ever had.
New Ferret T-Shirt in the Works
We finally got the preliminary artwork from Heidi, our graphic artist for the new t-shirt with the theme "Ferrets Are More Fun." Illustrating ferrets is a tough job - but Heidi got the basics done. We need to figure out the color scheme we want these - not all ferrets are albino. Any ideas would be appreciated
On the left hand is the starting point - from a design about ten years ago. We sold a lot of those t-shirts. I hope we aren't bothered for copyright infringement.
A Word About Vets Treating Ferrets
After the meeting (San Diego FA meeting) and discussion about vet treating ferrets, I looked up 3055, and I think the language of the bill allows a big loophole, since the implication is that the veterinarian (or their assistant ) is allowed to treat the ferret as long as the veterinarian deems it necessary in their judgement. However they cannot board the animal. Boarding, as I understand it, means that someone pays for the animal to be kept. Since a veterinarian is not obliged to show CDFG any of the patient records, even if they are suspected of keeping an animal for extended periods of time, I doubt that any vet could be proved to be boarding a ferret. Since CDFG are not veterinarians, I can't think they would be to keen on taking a vet to court, or raiding a clinic for records - they would need a search warrant - very bad PR. M.
4826.2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a veterinarian, registered veterinary technician, or an unregistered assistant working under the supervision of a veterinarian, may provide veterinary care and treatment for any animal restricted pursuant to Section 2118 of the Fish and Game Code. A veterinarian, registered veterinary technician, or an unregistered assistant working under the supervision of a veterinarian, may lawfully possess
one or more of the animals only for the period of time that, in his or her judgment, veterinary care and treatment are necessary. No veterinarian, registered veterinary technician, or unregistered assistant working under the supervision of a veterinarian, has a duty to advise law enforcement if he or she becomes aware that one or more of the animals is possessed in the state. For the purposes of this section, "veterinary care and treatment" does not include boarding when no veterinary care or treatment is required Readership Continues To Rise (CLIFFNotes????)
 Readership of CLIFFNotes continues to rise - it was even read in China. Often times people only give me an email address when they sign up for CLIFFNotes so I don't know where they live. (check out the cool sign up sheet featuring Harley). If you are getting this by email - you are already signed up.The two biggest dots are for San Diego (where we are based) and Sacramento (hmmm - actually there are a lot of ferret owners in Sacramento.)
Last week I had a lot of trouble with EmailBrain including get the list of CLIFFNotes that could not be delivered. So I sent everyone who didn't open it an email. I managed to offend more than a few people - sorry! But it did help in cleaning up the list.
One thing I do to boost the search engine success of www.ferretsanon.com is post a blog. I am surprised how many people do visit my FerretsAnon.com page based on the blog. I don't post the most important things there, it is much more informal (if that's possible). If anyone would like to guest blog - please let me know. I'd appreciate your comments.
Misunderstandings From Last Week:
 Seeing the recent photo in CliffNotes of the ferret in the water prompted me to remind people that our fuzzies need very careful supervision around water. The swimming season is almost at hand in California and many people will allow their ferrets to play in and around the pool. This can have disasterous consequences for ferrets. Ferrets swim with the use of their forelegs only, they are not quadruped swimmers. This pectoral swimming uses a great deal of energy and causes the ferret to stress and tire very quickly, putting them at serious risk of drowning. Please remember also that ferrets can get sunburned, increasing their risk of cancer, and have their retinas damaged from the glare of the sunlight. The chlorine in swimming pools also makes their already dry, itchy skin worse, so be sure to rinse them thoroughly if you are going to put them in a pool. My Chaos Crew are content to play in shallow bath water or a small kiddie pool, supervised constantly. We'll leave the real swimming to our cousin, the otter!
Bonnie - that's not water its fake fur
is that is a pic of a ferret and alcohol? .. i felt so unhappy when i saw it.... i so hope they did not give any to the ferret...............
Don't worry - no one is giving their ferret beer! Though it does look like he's had a few
 I'm dying to know of the ad for Path Valley Farm really means you get a free FERRET with a $50 purchase? If not, what in sam hell is "Free Frt."?It means Free Freight (insert relieved laugh here).
Final Thoughts
Go find your remaining Easter Eggs - ever more difficult in a house full of ferrets!
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