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> Feral ferrets Citation needed. Where in the other 49 states is this scourge of feral ferrets? Domesticated ferrets are to known to die fairly quickly if the

> Feral ferrets Citation needed. Where in the other 49 states is this scourge of feral ferrets? Domesticated ferrets are to known to die fairly quickly if they escape to the wild. They have no hunting instincts. If you are worried about feral animals, why would you allow cats but not ferrets?

ip26 4y ago
why would you allow cats Ecologically speaking, we shouldn't. But the cat is already out of the bag, so to speak.
mutatio 4y ago
> Domesticated ferrets are to known to die fairly quickly if they escape to the wild. Citation needed. Seems like feral ferrets exist in Ireland: https://invasivespeciesireland.com/species-accounts/established/terrestrial/feral-ferret https://invasivespeciesireland.com/species-accounts/establis... If ecological history has shown anything, it's that things shouldn't be "tried out" to see if they do indeed become an issue.
- sigzero 4y ago
  That's a different scenario though. They were brought in to curb other animals. They weren't domesticated ferrets let loose in the wild.
- jpadkins 4y ago
  Almost all pet ferrets are sprayed and neutered. Female ferrets die if they go in heat and don't mate. https://www.westdavisvets.com/veterinary-topics/ferret-health https://www.westdavisvets.com/veterinary-topics/ferret-healt... Maybe CA would have a position if they banned ferret breeding farms, but banning pet ferrets is simply dumb.
smegger001 4y ago
wild cats were already here, they just have been driven out by humans so house cat fill the niche while being able to live beside humans successfully.
HideousKojima 4y ago
There are also tons of people in California who already own ferrets illegally (one of my friends growing up did) and yet there's no feral ferret problem in California. Meanwhile there are now feral parrot populations (descended from escaped pets) in my hometown near San Diego that weren't there 15 years ago, and I haven't heard anyone talk about banning parrots for that reason.
- nomel 4y ago
  To be fair, parrots aren't carnivores that directly eat the native wildlife.
- ajford 4y ago
  It's really rare for an escaped "pet ferret" population to boom on it's own, since most ferrets purchased in the pet trade (i.e. not specifically purchased for breeding) are already spayed/neutered. This isn't the case for most other pet species. IIRC, this is done because female ferrets who go into heat can/do die if they don't mate and male ferrets will become quite hostile when near a female in heat.
alistairSH 4y ago
Who is claiming feral cars aren't a problem?

ip26 4y ago

why would you allow cats Ecologically speaking, we shouldn't. But the cat is already out of the bag, so to speak.

mutatio 4y ago

> Domesticated ferrets are to known to die fairly quickly if they escape to the wild. Citation needed. Seems like feral ferrets exist in Ireland: https://invasivespeciesireland.com/species-accounts/established/terrestrial/feral-ferret https://invasivespeciesireland.com/species-accounts/establis... If ecological history has shown anything, it's that things shouldn't be "tried out" to see if they do indeed become an issue.

sigzero 4y ago
That's a different scenario though. They were brought in to curb other animals. They weren't domesticated ferrets let loose in the wild.
jpadkins 4y ago
Almost all pet ferrets are sprayed and neutered. Female ferrets die if they go in heat and don't mate. https://www.westdavisvets.com/veterinary-topics/ferret-health https://www.westdavisvets.com/veterinary-topics/ferret-healt... Maybe CA would have a position if they banned ferret breeding farms, but banning pet ferrets is simply dumb.

smegger001 4y ago

wild cats were already here, they just have been driven out by humans so house cat fill the niche while being able to live beside humans successfully.

HideousKojima 4y ago

There are also tons of people in California who already own ferrets illegally (one of my friends growing up did) and yet there's no feral ferret problem in California. Meanwhile there are now feral parrot populations (descended from escaped pets) in my hometown near San Diego that weren't there 15 years ago, and I haven't heard anyone talk about banning parrots for that reason.

nomel 4y ago
To be fair, parrots aren't carnivores that directly eat the native wildlife.
ajford 4y ago
It's really rare for an escaped "pet ferret" population to boom on it's own, since most ferrets purchased in the pet trade (i.e. not specifically purchased for breeding) are already spayed/neutered. This isn't the case for most other pet species. IIRC, this is done because female ferrets who go into heat can/do die if they don't mate and male ferrets will become quite hostile when near a female in heat.

alistairSH 4y ago

Who is claiming feral cars aren't a problem?