4 ms·

I think we may be in agreement about the potential risks of ferret legalization, even if we disagree about the likelihood of the worst case scenario. But regar

I think we may be in agreement about the potential risks of ferret legalization, even if we disagree about the likelihood of the worst case scenario. But regardless, you need to weigh those risks against the enjoyment and psychological benefit that owners derive from pet ferrets, just like with pets of any other species.

rexpop 4y ago
> you need to weigh those risks against the enjoyment and psychological benefit The risks are massive, and the opportunity cost miniscule.
sanedigital 4y ago
> But regardless, you need to weigh those risks against the enjoyment and psychological benefit that owners derive from pet ferrets, just like with pets of any other species. This almost sounds like satire. You can't have a ferret. Dad said so. Go play with something else.
- mikeyouse 4y ago
  Right. It's such a tiring method of argument -- "You can't do anything until you exhaustively quantify the plusses and minuses." Some things are self-evidently bad ideas with potential costs so large and "benefits" so imperceptible that they can be safely ignored out of hand. Sorry man, you don't get to have ferrets. You also can't own a cheetah or a chimpanzee. Get a hamster, cat, dog, tarantula, python, goat, chicken, alpaca, chinchilla, fish, parakeet or one of the dozens of other options.
  - Dylan16807 4y ago
    > It's such a tiring method of argument -- "You can't do anything until you exhaustively quantify the plusses and minuses." It takes like ten seconds to go over the benefits of ferrets. Why be lazy? I don't think it's a bad idea to briefly weigh both sides in just about every situation.
    - alistairSH 4y ago
      Sure... - Pluses: furry animal in the house. This benefit can be bestowed by a dog or a hamster. - Minuses: annihilation of several wild species native to CA. Neither dogs nor hamsters pose this risk.
armada651 4y ago
> But regardless, you need to weigh those risks against the enjoyment and psychological benefit that owners derive from pet ferrets, just like with pets of any other species. What's the unique psychological benefit that owners get from a ferret that they wouldn't be able to get from a cat, dog or any of the numerous already legal pets?
- hgomersall 4y ago
  Arguably cats and dogs should be banned too!
  - rcpt 4y ago
    At the very least allow people to kill cats when they're on your property. Instead you can face a year in jail if you put down the cat that's been hunting your rabbits and chickens
    - cmrdporcupine 4y ago
      People have problems with cats and chickens? Dogs, sure, but cats? Our chickens stare down the neighbour's barn cat (who hunts full size rabbits BTW) and the cat is like... hm.... not worth it, and she moves on. Now, I wouldn't want cats around when they're still chicks, true. A rooster comes in handy then, though.
      - armada651 4y ago
        We used to have a bantam chicken and we'd regularly see the neighbor's cat sprinting through our garden being chased around by a small, bite-size chicken. The cat would regularly terrorize the larger chickens, but it knew not to fuck with the little guy.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
    - hgomersall 4y ago
      A few years ago someone in the UK put an electric net over their vegetable patch, probably to stop cats. Long story short a cat was killed by said electric net. He was prosecuted but only got a fine of £60 or something. I suspect he might have felt that was good value to eliminate the cat shit from his veggies.
mikestew 4y ago
But regardless, you need to weigh those risks against the enjoyment and psychological benefit that owners derive from pet ferrets, just like with pets of any other species. I need do no such thing, especially when the argument is one logical step away from "but ma freedumbs!". Or whataboutism, I haven't decided. But "yeah, we might lose an endangered species or two, but what about my needs?" is what I'm reading here.
wcarron 4y ago
The enjoyment and psychological benefit of pet ownership is of exactly zero consequence.

rexpop 4y ago

> you need to weigh those risks against the enjoyment and psychological benefit The risks are massive, and the opportunity cost miniscule.

sanedigital 4y ago

> But regardless, you need to weigh those risks against the enjoyment and psychological benefit that owners derive from pet ferrets, just like with pets of any other species. This almost sounds like satire. You can't have a ferret. Dad said so. Go play with something else.

mikeyouse 4y ago
Right. It's such a tiring method of argument -- "You can't do anything until you exhaustively quantify the plusses and minuses." Some things are self-evidently bad ideas with potential costs so large and "benefits" so imperceptible that they can be safely ignored out of hand. Sorry man, you don't get to have ferrets. You also can't own a cheetah or a chimpanzee. Get a hamster, cat, dog, tarantula, python, goat, chicken, alpaca, chinchilla, fish, parakeet or one of the dozens of other options.
- Dylan16807 4y ago
  > It's such a tiring method of argument -- "You can't do anything until you exhaustively quantify the plusses and minuses." It takes like ten seconds to go over the benefits of ferrets. Why be lazy? I don't think it's a bad idea to briefly weigh both sides in just about every situation.
  - alistairSH 4y ago
    Sure... - Pluses: furry animal in the house. This benefit can be bestowed by a dog or a hamster. - Minuses: annihilation of several wild species native to CA. Neither dogs nor hamsters pose this risk.

armada651 4y ago

> But regardless, you need to weigh those risks against the enjoyment and psychological benefit that owners derive from pet ferrets, just like with pets of any other species. What's the unique psychological benefit that owners get from a ferret that they wouldn't be able to get from a cat, dog or any of the numerous already legal pets?

hgomersall 4y ago
Arguably cats and dogs should be banned too!
- rcpt 4y ago
  At the very least allow people to kill cats when they're on your property. Instead you can face a year in jail if you put down the cat that's been hunting your rabbits and chickens
  - cmrdporcupine 4y ago
    People have problems with cats and chickens? Dogs, sure, but cats? Our chickens stare down the neighbour's barn cat (who hunts full size rabbits BTW) and the cat is like... hm.... not worth it, and she moves on. Now, I wouldn't want cats around when they're still chicks, true. A rooster comes in handy then, though.
    - armada651 4y ago
      We used to have a bantam chicken and we'd regularly see the neighbor's cat sprinting through our garden being chased around by a small, bite-size chicken. The cat would regularly terrorize the larger chickens, but it knew not to fuck with the little guy.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
  - hgomersall 4y ago
    A few years ago someone in the UK put an electric net over their vegetable patch, probably to stop cats. Long story short a cat was killed by said electric net. He was prosecuted but only got a fine of £60 or something. I suspect he might have felt that was good value to eliminate the cat shit from his veggies.

mikestew 4y ago

But regardless, you need to weigh those risks against the enjoyment and psychological benefit that owners derive from pet ferrets, just like with pets of any other species. I need do no such thing, especially when the argument is one logical step away from "but ma freedumbs!". Or whataboutism, I haven't decided. But "yeah, we might lose an endangered species or two, but what about my needs?" is what I'm reading here.

wcarron 4y ago

The enjoyment and psychological benefit of pet ownership is of exactly zero consequence.