13 ms·

One man’s fight to end California’s ban on ferrets

94 points by danso 4y ago

dboreham 4y ago
Learned from this that Ferrets are a domesticated species (like dogs and cats). I'd only heard of them in the context of Monty Python and affinity for trouser legs and assumed they were a wild animal. Also, they're _big_ : we have a kind of Weasel (Ermine) in Montana and I've seen then drag an adult rabbit carcas over long distances. Ferrets look to be around twice their size.
- EdwardDiego 4y ago
  In NZ the ferrets tend to specialise in rabbits, the stoats and weasels go for rats, mice, and birds. Although I did once see two stoats coursing a brushtail possum to death, it was nasty AF. But yeah, apparently stoats and weasels can't be domesticated like ferrets.
  - pvaldes 4y ago
    We probably could, but we definitely don't want it. They have a different sense of time and are just too much energetic to be bearable. Would be like having a children with the most severe case of ADHD jumping over you each five seconds non-stop after drinking ten coffes and doing cocaine. Just watching a stoat to play is exhausting.
- cmrdporcupine 4y ago
  My younger brother had a pet ferret growing up. It wasn't that big. But it had no fear. Our large dog (rhodesian ridgeback X black lab cross) was scared of it. They'd "play" but the dog always backed off. They only have two modes: sleep and play/hunt. Ours learned to play with us without puncturing our skin, but its play still involving biting and tugging incessantly. Once a squirrel had gotten into a wall cavity. The ferret knew and paced outside of the wall for days, every waking hour, just obsessed. It smelled pretty bad. The scent gland had been removed but it still had a musky odor that got through the whole house. One day it escaped the confines of the house and got over to one of the neighbours. It got into their garage and killed an entire litter of little kittens. We think an owl caught it not long after. Their status as pets is a bit dubious IMHO. They'd also be a real problem anywhere near where people keep poultry or rabbits. They're notorious serial killers. Weasels get into chicken coops and slaughter whole flocks seemingly for fun, killing like crazy but actually eating very little.
  - jacquesm 4y ago
    > killing like crazy but actually eating very little. That could easily apply to humans.
    - sph 4y ago
      I personally eat any animal that I kill on purpose. I should mention that I haven't killed any yet, apart from unlucky insects, but if I were to shoot a deer I'll eat it too.
      - moron4hire 4y ago
        I have yet to eat any of the mice I have killed. Wild house mice smell like death even when they are still alive.
        nomel 4y ago
        And, can easily be death, thanks to hantavirus: https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/index.html
      - catlifeonmars 4y ago
        Technically, insects are animals too :)
  - surfpel 4y ago
    > killing like crazy but actually eating very little For a domesticated species it sounds like that is the main function. That is, it would make sense that humans domesticated multiple species (cats, dogs, ferrets, minks, etc..)[1] to be adept at killing just for killing sake, probably with different niches. Dogs for defense, and all of them able to offer pest control for various sizes of pests. This is pure speculation on my part however. Any experts care to weigh in? 1 - (dogs and minks killing lots of rats) https://youtu.be/SM4C3_nMN_g https://youtu.be/SM4C3_nMN_g
    - 4y ago
- vrc 4y ago
  The black footed ferret is native to the US, wild, and endangered. The domestic ferret is thought to be from the European polecat
- pxc 4y ago
  > Also, they're _big_ : we have a kind of Weasel (Ermine) in Montana and I've seen then drag an adult rabbit carcas over long distances. Ferrets look to be around twice their size. Most pet ferrets come from one inbred line produced by one monopolist who breeds ferrets for research (testing drugs and chemicals on animals) and for sale in pet stores. Those ferrets are pretty small (2-4 lbs), in part because they're virtually all pediatric neuters, and never go through puberty. There are also very small numbers of ferrets available from small breeders in some states. They tend to be a bit larger, and additionally those breeders also sometimes sell hybrids (ferrets crossed with wild polecats), who are quite a bit bigger. Anyway I think of domesticated ferrets as pretty small! And I guess they're much smaller than whatever wild/feral relatives they're sometimes crossed with in the hopes of improving health or genetic diversity.
- gadders 4y ago
  They're not that big, at least in the UK. They're about the size of your forearm.
pvaldes 4y ago
And many people sweating blood and tears to save endemic fishes like the Bonytail, the razorback sucker, the Colorado Pikeminnow, the four Ambystoma species of tiger salamanders, the California Red-legged frog, the Giant and San Francisco Gartersnakes, the California Ridgway's rail. Without talking of the endangered freshwater clams, snails and crustaceans of California. This man is not a hero. Feral ferrets would treat tens of species of endangered animals of California. They even maybe could block an hypothetical future reintroduction of the American polecat (unlikely, as is a pairie dog specialized hunter from Central US, but not impossible as is one of the most endangered mammals of US). All this effort could be destroyed for the lack of vision of one single man and the "but is so cute" trap. Nature is too important to be left to the caprices of pet owners.
- jasonhansel 4y ago
  1. Wouldn't requiring ferrets (aside from the limited number needed for breeding) to be spayed or neutered greatly reduce this risk? 2. Don't feral cats and dogs also pose a threat to ecosystems? Why should the threat to endangered species necessarily outweigh the significant psychological benefits of pet ownership? 3. Couldn't feral ferrets from one of the many states where they are already legal easily make their way into California anyway? 4. Since many people violate the ferret ban anyway, wouldn't legalizing and regulating the keeping of ferrets result in more responsible ferret ownership?
  - pvaldes 4y ago
    1. Neutered animals still hunt, one single racoon released in a small Spanish Island by idiots almost wiped the entire colony of an endangered marine bird in two years. 2. One problem does not exclude the other. Ferrets live in freshwater systems. Can swim and eat amphibians, fishes and molluscs. They know how to manage toads to remove the poison glands and then eat the toad entire. Feral cats don't like frogs, and avoid entering in water unless necessary. Cats favor to live near humans and are quickly extirpated from wild areas with raptors. Ferrets instead, dive into crevices and rocks, remain hidden and are much more hard to hunt. 3. They could and they should be eliminated if you want to save the Californian fauna. In any case "I want to be allowed to violate the law in my state, because the other states don't care and is free for all there" is a false dichotomy. 4. Not. You would just increase the number of ferrets and the probability of escape. To start, entire litters would be released by the animalist crew (100% of probability if the species is legally allowed to breed). Moreover, ferrets aren't dogs, they enter in each hole of crevice that see, and need to investigate it, even for days. They will not return to you when you call them so (unlike cats and dogs), if you let your pet play in the garden alone for one minute, you will lose it. Entire females in heat are an "hormonal bomb" they either mate or die by stress if let alone. This mean that they travel a lot in search of a male.
Saint_Genet 4y ago
Also, let's not forget, let's not forget, Dude, that keeping wildlife, an amphibious rodent, for uh, domestic, you know, within the city, that aint legal either.
- jansan 4y ago
  "Are you familiar with the California fish and game code section. 21.16-21.26 with regard to the possession and harboring of ferrets?" "Oh god" "Oh yeah, those little shits are illegal."
- tokai 4y ago
  They are not wildlife.
  - projektfu 4y ago
    It was a Big Lebowski reference.
    - dylan604 4y ago
      the upper case Dude was a dead giveaway, but that's just like your opinion man.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- paulgb 4y ago
  TIL that although the Dude referred to it (earlier in the movie) as a marmot, the part was played by a ferret. https://thebiglebowski.fandom.com/wiki/Marmot https://thebiglebowski.fandom.com/wiki/Marmot
- mirceal 4y ago
  What? Are you a park ranger now?
pru567 4y ago
There's some horror stories of ferrets around toddlers (eating face/eating fingers), they seem pretty wild.
- Beltalowda 4y ago
  Keeping any animal around toddlers unattended is irresponsible and should never be done; this includes cats and dogs. Plenty of stories about attacks from the family dog or cat too. That being said, one of my childhood friends had a ferret, and can definitely attest they're kind bitey, more so than your average cat or dog, and they also seem to have an unlimited amount of energy.
  - Teknoman117 4y ago
    As someone who has had dogs, cats, and ferrets - it really just comes down to training. The bitey-est animal I've had so far is my current cat. Neither of our ferrets were bitey. The only time a bite happened was when our (at the time, young) dog backed one into a corner and it got scared.
  - tzs 4y ago
    On the other hand there are also plenty of stories about dogs and cats saving kids too. One of my earliest memories is from being out back and seeing something interesting that I wanted to go pick up and play with, and our dog (a little wirehaired terrier) getting between me and it and forcing me back despite my attempts to get around him to get to the interesting thing, while barking his head off until my mom came out to see what was going on. The interesting thing was a large rattlesnake.
- scythe 4y ago
  Based on some reading, it appears the principal risk of ferrets relative to other animals is that they can climb. A crib will protect a baby from a cat or dog, but not from a ferret. Consequently, the most disturbing examples involve ferrets attacking immobile newborns in cribs. There are lots of reports of domestic pets attacking babies, but ferrets are more likely than the others to have the opportunity, when normal infant care is applied.
stewx 4y ago
Reminds me of the Silicon Valley ferret neighbour scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMK_GAyRY0o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMK_GAyRY0o
- lovetocode 4y ago
  I was quite literally watching SV when I saw this post
hilbert42 4y ago
"The agency introduced “gripping” testimony in a Senate committee meeting from a 14-year-old Nevada girl who had been mauled as an infant by a ferret." No doubt a terrible tragedy for the child and parents and one hopes it never happens again. However, there's a reasonable compromise here - simply make it illegal to own a ferret if you have children below a certain age where they're incapable of defending themselves - perhaps six or so. Similarly, if you own ferrets you must ensure that they don't endanger other children that are not your own. Overtight regulation such as banning ferret ownersip until children are say teenagers is also not the answer as kids get great fun with playing with them. Here sense ought to prevail. As a kid I was mauled by a dog and my injuries hurt, but we don't ban them nor would I ever advocate that except in exceptional circumstances - or perhaps with some very vicious breeds such as Rottweilers (as some municipalities have done). Similar logic ought to follow with respect to ferret ownership. Moreover, it seems to me that the 1933 rule banning ferrets because of farmers' concern for their farmland ought to be questioned. They should put up solid evidence of potential damage or shutup (why is it a problem in CA to the point of banning but not so elsewhere?). BTW, my mauling was essentially my own fault, I pushed my hand through a picket fence to show a schoolfriend something I'd found and in the excitement I'd forgotten his dog was vicious. The dog grabbed my hand and lower arm to the point of bleeding and wouldn't let go until he ordered it to do so. Incidentally, I'm a dog lover and have owed dogs but never a ferret (they weren't very common in my area when I was a kid or I likely would have). However on second thoughts it wouldn't have been the smartest idea as I owned a collection of white rats and mice. Owning and looking after them was quite an interesting learning experience but that's another storey.
- snarf21 4y ago
  One could easily argue that if an animal isn't safe to be left alone with children 6 and under that it is a very bad choice for a pet. Kids would have fun playing with a tiger cub too. Just get a cat.
  - tokai 4y ago
    Cats can also be dangerous for young kids.
davidhegarty 4y ago
Shout out to one of the greatest documentaries of all time: PBS's 'Ferrets - The Pursuit of Excellence'. It is ever bit as funny 'Best in Show'... but the characters are real. The only place I can find a streaming version is this low quality YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrhSFMO4egI&t=4163s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrhSFMO4egI&t=4163s The DVD is now ~$80 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Pursuit-Excellence-Ferrets/dp/B000RL21RW https://www.amazon.com/Pursuit-Excellence-Ferrets/dp/B000RL2...
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
wildekek 4y ago
I owned two ferrets for a few years. You can have all the time in the world and read up as much as you want, but very few people have what it takes to deal with these wonderful feral shitheads.
conradfr 4y ago
Surprisingly it wasn't Noah the neighbor from Silicon Valley.
mensetmanusman 4y ago
Favorite story of ferrets: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/felicia-ferret-particle-accelerator-fermilab https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/felicia-ferret-particl... They found a way to use them to clean metal debris :)
mattanimation 4y ago
when I read this I immediately just thought of the neighbor in Silicon Valley
AlbertCory 4y ago
My brother had a ferret. It was a lousy pet, not remotely "cuddly" or "playful." As soon as you let it loose, it would run behind the washing machine and hide. He also had a (de-scented) skunk; also a lousy pet. I really don't understand why non-farmers feel this desire to have pets other than dogs or cats, or rabbits, or reptiles, or birds, or any of the other legal pets. If you really need to feel different, paint yourself blue.
Zak 4y ago
Given that ferrets are legal to keep as pets in Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon, it's probably not terribly difficult to quantify the ecological and agricultural impact in places similar to California. I don't know if any such research has been done, but I suspect if it was done and found significant harm, there would be a movement to ban ferrets in one or more of those states. My very brief web search did not find one.
- sigzero 4y ago
  Ferrets are only illegal in Hawaii, California, DC, and NYC at this point.
snug 4y ago
Something I found out about moving to California from Texas where I had a ferret. You could still buy ferret food in California, even though they are banned. The ferret sadly passed away before I moved, or even planned to move.
chriscjcj 4y ago
The article mentions several of the laws surrounding ferret ownership citing the year they were passed. In so doing, they seem to imply that because it was so long ago, the justifications for the laws no longer lack validity. I don't see how the age of a law necessarily calls its relevance into question, particularly as it pertains to the behavior of animals.
- sieabahlpark 4y ago

94 points by danso 4y ago

Learned from this that Ferrets are a domesticated species (like dogs and cats). I'd only heard of them in the context of Monty Python and affinity for trouser legs and assumed they were a wild animal. Also, they're _big_ : we have a kind of Weasel (Ermine) in Montana and I've seen then drag an adult rabbit carcas over long distances. Ferrets look to be around twice their size.

EdwardDiego 4y ago
In NZ the ferrets tend to specialise in rabbits, the stoats and weasels go for rats, mice, and birds. Although I did once see two stoats coursing a brushtail possum to death, it was nasty AF. But yeah, apparently stoats and weasels can't be domesticated like ferrets.
- pvaldes 4y ago
  We probably could, but we definitely don't want it. They have a different sense of time and are just too much energetic to be bearable. Would be like having a children with the most severe case of ADHD jumping over you each five seconds non-stop after drinking ten coffes and doing cocaine. Just watching a stoat to play is exhausting.
cmrdporcupine 4y ago
My younger brother had a pet ferret growing up. It wasn't that big. But it had no fear. Our large dog (rhodesian ridgeback X black lab cross) was scared of it. They'd "play" but the dog always backed off. They only have two modes: sleep and play/hunt. Ours learned to play with us without puncturing our skin, but its play still involving biting and tugging incessantly. Once a squirrel had gotten into a wall cavity. The ferret knew and paced outside of the wall for days, every waking hour, just obsessed. It smelled pretty bad. The scent gland had been removed but it still had a musky odor that got through the whole house. One day it escaped the confines of the house and got over to one of the neighbours. It got into their garage and killed an entire litter of little kittens. We think an owl caught it not long after. Their status as pets is a bit dubious IMHO. They'd also be a real problem anywhere near where people keep poultry or rabbits. They're notorious serial killers. Weasels get into chicken coops and slaughter whole flocks seemingly for fun, killing like crazy but actually eating very little.
- jacquesm 4y ago
  > killing like crazy but actually eating very little. That could easily apply to humans.
  - sph 4y ago
    I personally eat any animal that I kill on purpose. I should mention that I haven't killed any yet, apart from unlucky insects, but if I were to shoot a deer I'll eat it too.
    - moron4hire 4y ago
      I have yet to eat any of the mice I have killed. Wild house mice smell like death even when they are still alive.
      - nomel 4y ago
        And, can easily be death, thanks to hantavirus: https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/index.html
    - catlifeonmars 4y ago
      Technically, insects are animals too :)
- surfpel 4y ago
  > killing like crazy but actually eating very little For a domesticated species it sounds like that is the main function. That is, it would make sense that humans domesticated multiple species (cats, dogs, ferrets, minks, etc..)[1] to be adept at killing just for killing sake, probably with different niches. Dogs for defense, and all of them able to offer pest control for various sizes of pests. This is pure speculation on my part however. Any experts care to weigh in? 1 - (dogs and minks killing lots of rats) https://youtu.be/SM4C3_nMN_g https://youtu.be/SM4C3_nMN_g
  - 4y ago
vrc 4y ago
The black footed ferret is native to the US, wild, and endangered. The domestic ferret is thought to be from the European polecat
pxc 4y ago
> Also, they're _big_ : we have a kind of Weasel (Ermine) in Montana and I've seen then drag an adult rabbit carcas over long distances. Ferrets look to be around twice their size. Most pet ferrets come from one inbred line produced by one monopolist who breeds ferrets for research (testing drugs and chemicals on animals) and for sale in pet stores. Those ferrets are pretty small (2-4 lbs), in part because they're virtually all pediatric neuters, and never go through puberty. There are also very small numbers of ferrets available from small breeders in some states. They tend to be a bit larger, and additionally those breeders also sometimes sell hybrids (ferrets crossed with wild polecats), who are quite a bit bigger. Anyway I think of domesticated ferrets as pretty small! And I guess they're much smaller than whatever wild/feral relatives they're sometimes crossed with in the hopes of improving health or genetic diversity.
gadders 4y ago
They're not that big, at least in the UK. They're about the size of your forearm.

pvaldes 4y ago

And many people sweating blood and tears to save endemic fishes like the Bonytail, the razorback sucker, the Colorado Pikeminnow, the four Ambystoma species of tiger salamanders, the California Red-legged frog, the Giant and San Francisco Gartersnakes, the California Ridgway's rail. Without talking of the endangered freshwater clams, snails and crustaceans of California. This man is not a hero. Feral ferrets would treat tens of species of endangered animals of California. They even maybe could block an hypothetical future reintroduction of the American polecat (unlikely, as is a pairie dog specialized hunter from Central US, but not impossible as is one of the most endangered mammals of US). All this effort could be destroyed for the lack of vision of one single man and the "but is so cute" trap. Nature is too important to be left to the caprices of pet owners.

jasonhansel 4y ago
1. Wouldn't requiring ferrets (aside from the limited number needed for breeding) to be spayed or neutered greatly reduce this risk? 2. Don't feral cats and dogs also pose a threat to ecosystems? Why should the threat to endangered species necessarily outweigh the significant psychological benefits of pet ownership? 3. Couldn't feral ferrets from one of the many states where they are already legal easily make their way into California anyway? 4. Since many people violate the ferret ban anyway, wouldn't legalizing and regulating the keeping of ferrets result in more responsible ferret ownership?
- pvaldes 4y ago
  1. Neutered animals still hunt, one single racoon released in a small Spanish Island by idiots almost wiped the entire colony of an endangered marine bird in two years. 2. One problem does not exclude the other. Ferrets live in freshwater systems. Can swim and eat amphibians, fishes and molluscs. They know how to manage toads to remove the poison glands and then eat the toad entire. Feral cats don't like frogs, and avoid entering in water unless necessary. Cats favor to live near humans and are quickly extirpated from wild areas with raptors. Ferrets instead, dive into crevices and rocks, remain hidden and are much more hard to hunt. 3. They could and they should be eliminated if you want to save the Californian fauna. In any case "I want to be allowed to violate the law in my state, because the other states don't care and is free for all there" is a false dichotomy. 4. Not. You would just increase the number of ferrets and the probability of escape. To start, entire litters would be released by the animalist crew (100% of probability if the species is legally allowed to breed). Moreover, ferrets aren't dogs, they enter in each hole of crevice that see, and need to investigate it, even for days. They will not return to you when you call them so (unlike cats and dogs), if you let your pet play in the garden alone for one minute, you will lose it. Entire females in heat are an "hormonal bomb" they either mate or die by stress if let alone. This mean that they travel a lot in search of a male.

Saint_Genet 4y ago

Also, let's not forget, let's not forget, Dude, that keeping wildlife, an amphibious rodent, for uh, domestic, you know, within the city, that aint legal either.

jansan 4y ago
"Are you familiar with the California fish and game code section. 21.16-21.26 with regard to the possession and harboring of ferrets?" "Oh god" "Oh yeah, those little shits are illegal."
tokai 4y ago
They are not wildlife.
- projektfu 4y ago
  It was a Big Lebowski reference.
  - dylan604 4y ago
    the upper case Dude was a dead giveaway, but that's just like your opinion man.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
paulgb 4y ago
TIL that although the Dude referred to it (earlier in the movie) as a marmot, the part was played by a ferret. https://thebiglebowski.fandom.com/wiki/Marmot https://thebiglebowski.fandom.com/wiki/Marmot
mirceal 4y ago
What? Are you a park ranger now?

pru567 4y ago

There's some horror stories of ferrets around toddlers (eating face/eating fingers), they seem pretty wild.

Beltalowda 4y ago
Keeping any animal around toddlers unattended is irresponsible and should never be done; this includes cats and dogs. Plenty of stories about attacks from the family dog or cat too. That being said, one of my childhood friends had a ferret, and can definitely attest they're kind bitey, more so than your average cat or dog, and they also seem to have an unlimited amount of energy.
- Teknoman117 4y ago
  As someone who has had dogs, cats, and ferrets - it really just comes down to training. The bitey-est animal I've had so far is my current cat. Neither of our ferrets were bitey. The only time a bite happened was when our (at the time, young) dog backed one into a corner and it got scared.
- tzs 4y ago
  On the other hand there are also plenty of stories about dogs and cats saving kids too. One of my earliest memories is from being out back and seeing something interesting that I wanted to go pick up and play with, and our dog (a little wirehaired terrier) getting between me and it and forcing me back despite my attempts to get around him to get to the interesting thing, while barking his head off until my mom came out to see what was going on. The interesting thing was a large rattlesnake.
scythe 4y ago
Based on some reading, it appears the principal risk of ferrets relative to other animals is that they can climb. A crib will protect a baby from a cat or dog, but not from a ferret. Consequently, the most disturbing examples involve ferrets attacking immobile newborns in cribs. There are lots of reports of domestic pets attacking babies, but ferrets are more likely than the others to have the opportunity, when normal infant care is applied.

stewx 4y ago

Reminds me of the Silicon Valley ferret neighbour scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMK_GAyRY0o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMK_GAyRY0o

lovetocode 4y ago
I was quite literally watching SV when I saw this post

hilbert42 4y ago

"The agency introduced “gripping” testimony in a Senate committee meeting from a 14-year-old Nevada girl who had been mauled as an infant by a ferret." No doubt a terrible tragedy for the child and parents and one hopes it never happens again. However, there's a reasonable compromise here - simply make it illegal to own a ferret if you have children below a certain age where they're incapable of defending themselves - perhaps six or so. Similarly, if you own ferrets you must ensure that they don't endanger other children that are not your own. Overtight regulation such as banning ferret ownersip until children are say teenagers is also not the answer as kids get great fun with playing with them. Here sense ought to prevail. As a kid I was mauled by a dog and my injuries hurt, but we don't ban them nor would I ever advocate that except in exceptional circumstances - or perhaps with some very vicious breeds such as Rottweilers (as some municipalities have done). Similar logic ought to follow with respect to ferret ownership. Moreover, it seems to me that the 1933 rule banning ferrets because of farmers' concern for their farmland ought to be questioned. They should put up solid evidence of potential damage or shutup (why is it a problem in CA to the point of banning but not so elsewhere?). BTW, my mauling was essentially my own fault, I pushed my hand through a picket fence to show a schoolfriend something I'd found and in the excitement I'd forgotten his dog was vicious. The dog grabbed my hand and lower arm to the point of bleeding and wouldn't let go until he ordered it to do so. Incidentally, I'm a dog lover and have owed dogs but never a ferret (they weren't very common in my area when I was a kid or I likely would have). However on second thoughts it wouldn't have been the smartest idea as I owned a collection of white rats and mice. Owning and looking after them was quite an interesting learning experience but that's another storey.

snarf21 4y ago
One could easily argue that if an animal isn't safe to be left alone with children 6 and under that it is a very bad choice for a pet. Kids would have fun playing with a tiger cub too. Just get a cat.
- tokai 4y ago
  Cats can also be dangerous for young kids.

davidhegarty 4y ago

Shout out to one of the greatest documentaries of all time: PBS's 'Ferrets - The Pursuit of Excellence'. It is ever bit as funny 'Best in Show'... but the characters are real. The only place I can find a streaming version is this low quality YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrhSFMO4egI&t=4163s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrhSFMO4egI&t=4163s The DVD is now ~$80 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Pursuit-Excellence-Ferrets/dp/B000RL21RW https://www.amazon.com/Pursuit-Excellence-Ferrets/dp/B000RL2...

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

wildekek 4y ago

I owned two ferrets for a few years. You can have all the time in the world and read up as much as you want, but very few people have what it takes to deal with these wonderful feral shitheads.

conradfr 4y ago

Surprisingly it wasn't Noah the neighbor from Silicon Valley.

mensetmanusman 4y ago

Favorite story of ferrets: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/felicia-ferret-particle-accelerator-fermilab https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/felicia-ferret-particl... They found a way to use them to clean metal debris :)

mattanimation 4y ago

when I read this I immediately just thought of the neighbor in Silicon Valley

AlbertCory 4y ago

My brother had a ferret. It was a lousy pet, not remotely "cuddly" or "playful." As soon as you let it loose, it would run behind the washing machine and hide. He also had a (de-scented) skunk; also a lousy pet. I really don't understand why non-farmers feel this desire to have pets other than dogs or cats, or rabbits, or reptiles, or birds, or any of the other legal pets. If you really need to feel different, paint yourself blue.

Zak 4y ago

Given that ferrets are legal to keep as pets in Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon, it's probably not terribly difficult to quantify the ecological and agricultural impact in places similar to California. I don't know if any such research has been done, but I suspect if it was done and found significant harm, there would be a movement to ban ferrets in one or more of those states. My very brief web search did not find one.

sigzero 4y ago
Ferrets are only illegal in Hawaii, California, DC, and NYC at this point.

snug 4y ago

Something I found out about moving to California from Texas where I had a ferret. You could still buy ferret food in California, even though they are banned. The ferret sadly passed away before I moved, or even planned to move.

chriscjcj 4y ago

The article mentions several of the laws surrounding ferret ownership citing the year they were passed. In so doing, they seem to imply that because it was so long ago, the justifications for the laws no longer lack validity. I don't see how the age of a law necessarily calls its relevance into question, particularly as it pertains to the behavior of animals.

sieabahlpark 4y ago