The Hunt for a Legislator is in Full Swing

January and February 2012
Vol 1 , No 5
January and February 2012
3) Mandatory rabies vaccine for ferrets over six months of age. Rabies
shouldn’t be an issue but we wouldn’t
get very far without this clause.
The Hunt for a Legislator
is in Full Swing
Can we find someone to introduce a ferret legalization bill in 2012?
The effort to find a legislative sponsor
for our ferret legalization bill is on. We
have a bit of a head start, we’ve done
our homework, but the odds of finding
a state senator or state assembly member willing to represent the little guy in
our sea of special interests is a daunting
task.
Months ago we had the Legislative
Counsel draft our legislation as an initiative so we could get the proper language. We put in three conditions to
ferret legalization:
1)A onetime $50 license fee for any ferret sold in California and the funds collected to go to the local animal control
agency. This was to deal with the claim
that if ferrets were legal it would cost
more money for animal control as ferrets end up in the shelters and we also
want to discourage impulse buying of
ferrets.
2) Mandatory spay and neuter. If only
sterile animals are allowed to be sold
there could be no argument of unwanted
ferret breeding or feral breeding, though
ferrets have never gone feral except in
island eco-systems (New Zealand and
Shetland Islands).
Contents
Hunt for a Legislator in Full Swing .........................................................1
OC Register Editorial in Favor of Ferret Legalization ...........................2
Fish and Game Responds .........................................................................2
The 2012 Ferret Round Up is On for March 24th ...................................3
A Revolution in Flea and Heartworm prevention in Ferrets ....................4
Ferrets Non-Native to California? Neither is Your Dog .........................5
Irony of Politicians Who Claim to Fight Over Regulation ......................6
Ferrets Anonymous Financial Report ......................................................6
Annual Report for 2011 ...........................................................................6
Don’t Leave Your Best Friends Behind ...................................................7
Contact Info .............................................................................................8
Page 1
Any ferret bill is going to go through
the Senate Natural Resources and Water
Committee or the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. Therefore I started
the search for a bill sponsor in those
Committees. After four phone calls I
achieved some success.
The Legislative Director for one of the
State Senators agreed to help us and
send our proposed legislation to the
Legislative Counsel’s office. This has
to be done by January 27th. We then
have until February 27th to get the bill
officially introduced. So at the time of
this writing we have an “unbacked proposal.”
However, this gentleman insisted it be
anonymous and he didn’t want to associate his boss with this effort. He said it
was a courtesy for us – officially “the little guy” since we don’t have a lobbyist.
The good news is this gives us some
breathing room. But still, finding a
sponsor is a big job.
Most of the grassroots activity in Ferrets Anonymous is done through the Internet; Email, Facebook and Twitter. A
paper newsletter is pretty old news by
the time it is written, printed, mailed and
read.
But with the use of the Internet we have
a base of 5000 subscribers to our email
newsletter and 3000 friends on Facebook. Will people get involved? Will
they get on the phone and call their representatives? Will they be effective?
The more people who do it the easier it
will be.
www.ferretsanon.com
January and February 2012
OC Register Editorial in Favor of Ferret
Legalization
The Orange County Register
ran an editorial in favor of ferret legalization on their January
11th, 2012 edition. It is reprinted
below.
THE ORANGE
REGISTER
COUNTY
The legislation would take
care of objections that ferrets might “go feral,” Mr.
Wright said. But he said
that, in reality, “They can’t
go feral. They can’t threaten agriculture.” He guesses that about 100,000 ferrets already are owned by
Californians, 27 percent
of America’s ferret supplies are sold here, and it’s
already legal for veterinar- A ferret drew lots of questions from kids at the
ians to treat ferrets.
OC Fair wondering why they can’t legally have
“Ferrets are very entertain- one for a pet in California.
Ferrets aren’t for everybody. A
domesticated relative of weasels, they require a lot more expense and care than your average
cat or dog. But only California
and Hawaii ban them among the
50 states. That should change in
California.
ing,” Mr. Wright explained
Ferret owners now are pushing of their appeal. “They’re
for 2012 to be the year of legal- highly interactive. They’re fun
ization, Pat Wright told us; he’s to watch and to have around.
the founder of LegalizeFerrets. They are expensive and messy.
org. He said ferret fans “have Vet bills are huge. We don’t
until Jan. 27 to line up a spon- want to promote impulse buysor” in the Legislature for a le- ing of ferrets. It’s a big commitment.”
galization bill.
A principle of representative government is that
laws should reflect a common sense of what people
do. With ferrets quasi-permitted in California – and
legal in 48 other states – it
makes sense to legalize
them here. We encourage
Orange County’s state
legislators to back ferret
legalization, and even to
Second is a mandatory rabies sponsor it.
A model bill written by the Legislative Analyst’s office – which
could be changed in the Legislature itself – includes three parts.
First, there would be a one-time
$50 license fee that would go to
local animal control authorities
to offset any increase costs they
might have. “That takes care of
the objection that costs for the
authorities would go up with legalization,” Mr. Wright said.
vaccine. Third is mandatory
sterilization.
www.ferretsanon.com
Fish and Game
Responds
I should have expected something was up. The
Legislative Analyst at the Fish and Game Department was the first person to open our email
about the OC Editorial.
“I know it’s an emotional issue for ferret owners so we’re sympathetic to that,” said Andrew
Hughan, spokesman for Fish & Game. “For
the moment ferrets are illegal. They’re a nonnative and invasive spcies. We don’t see any
change in that in the foreseeable future.”
Page 2
January and February 2012
The 2012 Ferret Round Up is On for March 24th
The Ferret Round Up is our annual
meeting to elect officers, conduct business, discuss ferret issues, and renew
bonds (and create new ones) amongst
the California Ferret Community.
This year’s Round Up will be Saturday, March 24th in West Sacramento,
at: (see photo on right)w
3560 Southport Pkwy
West Sacramento, CA 95691
We’ve got a great facility with lots of
room. But sorry, no ferrets please (we
are still in California).
Round Up Schedule &
Speaker Line Up
9:00am Vendor Table Setup
10:30 Doors Open
11:00am-12:00pm FA Business
Meeting and Board Elections
The Ferrets Anonymous Business
Meeting addresses changes to the
bylaws, and elects the new year’s officers (e.g. President, Vice President,
Treasurer, Secretary, Membership
Chair, 6 At-Large Members).
12:00pm-1:30pm Welcome / Lunch
/ Vendor Shopping
1:30pm - 2:30pm
– Bob Church
First Speaker
Bob Church is the #1 ferret person in
the USA – an expert on all things ferret and a huge draw at ferret meetings.
We’re still trying to pin him down on
a topic…because there’s so much he
wants to talk about!
2:30pm - 3:00pm
Break / Silent
Raffle / Vendor Shopping
The Silent Auction is a Ferret Round
Up tradition. All comers have the opPage 3
portunity to bid on donated items. All
funds raised go to support legalization
campaigns throughout 2012.
We just asked our vendors for donations, and I have a few items which
might help. Do you have anything to
donate to the Silent Auction?
3:00pm - 4:00pm Second Speaker –
Jeanne Carley
Jeanne Carley is to ferret photography
what Kleenex is to tissue. Chances are
you’ve seen “The Ferret Calendar” in
stores every year. She will discuss ferret photography techniques. How she
captures and assembles those shots.
And her personal stories of working
with ferrets and cameras – which, as
most of us know, can be a very difficult combination!
4:30pm - 5:00pm Break /
Announce 2012 FA Officers &
Board
The 2012 Ferrets Anonymous Board
and its officers will be announced.
These are the people fighting for legalization on behalf of all Californians;
we welcome any & all encouragement!
5:00pm - 6:00pm Buffet Dinner
<Seriously, Jeremy, what’s on the
menu?>
6:00pm - 7:00pm Third Speaker –
Alison Parker
Alison is a filmmaker from Vancouver, Canada and has recently directed
a short film called “Jake & Jasper: A
Ferret Tale”. The goal of the film is to
change the negative ways ferrets have
been portrayed in the media. The
film is currently doing the film festival circuit and will be screened at the
Round Up, to be followed by a Q&A
session. Alison has created quite a stir
in the International Ferret Community
and this is her first appearance at a
Round Up (way to go Jaya and Jeremy
for snagging her!).
7:00pm - 8:00pm Vendor Shopping /
Auction Winners / Wrap Up
The Costs:
If you reserve by March 1st, 2012 the
cost is $30.
After March 1st, reservations are $3
5.
Please make your checks payable to:
Ferrets Anonymous
PO Box 3395, San Diego CA 92163
Dinner consists of a lovely buffet of
fried frog legs and turnip greens.
www.ferretsanon.com
January and February 2012
A Revolution in Flea and Heartworm prevention in
Ferrets
Though it has been around for some
time, the off-label use of selamectin
(the active ingredient in Revolution
by Pfizer) has the ability to not only
prevent fleas but also in proper doses
can prevent heartworms. Most ferret owners already know this but did
you know that the dose to control fleas
may not be enough to effectively control heartworms? The following excerpts are from a study published by
three DVMs1 showing the effect of
selamectin at two different dosages
against flea, ear mite and heartworm
infestations.
In a clinical trial, ferrets were treated
topically with selamectin at either 6
or 18 mg/kg body weight monthly for
4 months. These ferrets were experimentally infested with fleas 4, 11, 25,
and 18 days after each treatment,
with surviving fleas being counted
3 days later. Both doses were 100%
effective for between 7 and 21 days
post-treatment.1
They concluded that a steady dose of
15 mg of selamectin applied monthly
is a sustainable dose to control fleas
in adult ferrets of any weight.
Regarding the treatment of ear mites
the dosage needed to provide eradication is the same 15 mg per ferret, yet
applied slightly higher on the neck. A
single dose is all that is needed along
with cleaning out any remaining debris from the ear with a q-tip.
Heartworm infections are becoming
very severe in an increasing number
of locations and the only way to keep
them from becoming life threatening
is to kill the larvae before they reach
their adult stage and invade the heart.
They are spread by mosquitoes that
are infected from biting a dog, cat,
ferret or sometimes human that is
infected then biting an uninfected animal. So areas that have high mosquito
infestations increase the chances of
your pet becoming infected, this is
why prevention is key.
Control in endemic areas is based on
prophylactic treatments to eliminate
the third and fourth stage larvae before they begin to migrate towards the
heart, as treatment and subsequent
death of adult worms may result in
pulmonary thromboembolism.13 In a
clinical trial, 10 ferrets were treated
topically with either 6 or 18 mg/kg
body weight selamectin monthly for 4
months. Ferrets were inoculated with
D immitis larvae 30 days prior to the
first treatment. Efficacy of treatment
was assessed 24 days after the fifth
dose, 173 days post inoculation. Selamectin was 99.5% effective in preventing heartworm infection at a dose
rate of 6 mg/kg and 100% effective at
a dose rate of 18 mg/kg body weight.9
Kramer et al12 report use of selamectin in ferrets without problems at a
dose of 18 mg/kg body weight monthly for heartworm prevention.1
In conclusion this study shows that a
slightly higher dose is needed to provide proper preventative treatment for
heartworms in ferrets. Always consult
your veterinarian to assure proper
dosage for each individual ferret because weights can vary dramatically.
Christine Newman, RVT
[email protected]
Richard Smith, DVM
[email protected]
1
Fisher M, Wieland B,
Hutchinson M. Intern J Appl Res
Vet Med. Vol.5, No.3, 2007
www.ferretsanon.com
Page 4
January and February 2012
Ferrets Non-Native to
California? Neither is Your Dog
Andrew Hughan, a spokesman for Fish & Game, has characterized
the ferret as a “non-native, invasive species.”
This is political rhetoric at its worst. It’s the sort of derisive language
that insults California’s intelligence.
Why? Because while each term may apply (according to a strict
definition), Mr. Hughan has set you up for a completely wrong
impression of the ferret by using them.
Non-native. Didn’t originate in California. So it must be a threat,
right?
Now, the domestic ferret IS a descendant of the European polecat. It
is indeed non-native.
However, you know some other species which are non-native to
California? Most dog breeds. Same with cats. Arabian horses. Pet
rats, pet birds, pet reptiles...
Would you like Fish & Game to take away your spaniel for being
“non-native?”
And “invasive?” Doesn’t even apply. Ferrets are domesticated. They
present no more risk to California ecology than a feral cat.
An invasive species is wild. It arrives in a new environment and
damages other species. Some invasive species we deal with in
California are the brown cowbird (they spread parasites to other birds)
and the zebra mussel (they out-compete other aquatic life for food).
Mr. Hughan has tried to frame ferrets as an unwelcome menace.
Thereby sticking to his department’s misinformed position on
the domestic ferret. Don’t fall for it. Ferrets are not a danger to
California’s environment. They’re just a danger to Fish & Game’s
politics.
--Chris W.
Page 5
www.ferretsanon.com
January and February 2012
Legislators Fighting Over-Regulation Don’t see the Irony
Oh, The Irony of Those Republicans Looking for Over
Regulation
ing states that end up in California: $15,795,000
California sales tax on this amount @ 8.25% = $1,303,087
I’m deep into making phone calls to our legislators, starting with those on the Natural Resources Committees looking for a legislative sponsor.
We don’t know how many additional jobs California pet stores
would have if they could sale ferrets.
We all know and accept that ferrets are not the most important issue facing California – a huge state going belly up.
We don’t know about how many additional visits to California
veterinarians would occur if people weren’t afraid to bring
their ferrets to a vet.
But the excuse not to help we are getting from Repubicans
- oy vais!
“I am focusing my limited legislative agenda on proposals
that stimulate job growth, reduce the regulatory nightmare
that our great state has become, and ensuring that Californians can keep more of their hard-earned dollars.”
- Assemblyman Brian Jones
To those regulation-fighting champions I ask:
What is a more ridiculous, out-of-touch and
counter-productive regulation than California’s ferret ban?
Look below to see how much money this is costing our
state:
What We Know:
Marshall
Ferrets
Produces
150,000
rets1 for sale a year for the pet
Marshall Ferrets has 70% of the market.
No way to calculate number of people who won’t take employment in California because of the ferret ban.
(Endnotes)
1
2
Per Marshall Ferrets
Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council
Ferrets Anonymous Financial Report
Below is the annual financial report prepared by our treasurer,
Claudia T.
Ferrets Anonymous isn’t that active, most of the work is done
by LegalizeFerrets but FA is still our umbrella group and rather important.
In March we elect new officers and hopefully FA will take on
more of its own direction.
Annual Report for 2011
fertrade
195,000 Total Annual Ferret Production in the USA
Inflows
Donations ................................................................ $30
Californians buy 27% of the nation’s ferret supplies2
27% of the nation’s ferret sales =
Newsletter Subscriptions ........................................ $80
Round-Up:
Door ...................................................................... $200
Silent Auction....................................................... $198
52,650 ferrets are California bound, none bought legally
in our state.
Total Inflows ...................................................... $508
$ 150 Average Retail Price of a ferret
Outflows
Total Economic Activity for California ferret $7,897,500
Ferret Supplies Sold out of State $7,897, 500
Education ............................................................... $100
Newsletter ........................................................... $1,067
Postage ............................................................. $352.00
Angel Fund................................................................. $Round-Up Deposit 2012 ....................................... $250
Web site ................................................................... $40
Total Outflows .................................................... $1,809
Annual Sales of ferrets and ferret supplies from neighbor-
Bank Balance
When purchasing a ferret most people buy ferret supplies,
often estimated to be twice the value of the ferrets, but let’s
just say = 100% of the value of the ferret
www.ferretsanon.com
$3,343
Page 6
January and February 2012
Don’t Leave Your Best Friends Behind
An old cowboy was riding his trusty
horse followed by his faithful dog
along an unfamiliar road. The man
was enjoying the new scenery, when
he suddenly remembered dying, and
realized that the dog beside him had
been dead for years, as had his horse.
Confused, he wondered what was happening, and where the trail was leading them.
another hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a ranch gate that looked
as if it had never been closed. As
he approached the gate,
he saw a man inside,
leaning against
a tree and
reading a
After a while, they came to a high,
white stone wall that looked like fine
marble. At the top of a long hill, it
was broken by a tall arch topped by
a golden letter “H” that glowed in the
sunlight.
Standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like
mother-of-pearl, and the street that led
to the gate looked like gold.
He rode toward the gate, and as he got
closer, he saw a man at a desk to one
side. Parched and tired out by his journey, he called out, ‘Excuse me, where
are we?’
‘This is Heaven, sir,’ the man answered.
‘Wow! Would you happen to have
some water?’ the man asked.
‘Of course, sir. Come right in, and I’ll
have some ice water brought right up.’
As the gate began to open, the cowboy
asked, ‘Can I bring my partners, too?’
‘I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t accept
pets.’
The cowboy thought for a moment,
then turned back to the road and continued riding, his dog trotting by his
side.
After another long ride, at the top of
Page 7
book.
‘Excuse me,’ he
called to the man. ‘Do you have any
water?’
‘Sure, there’s a pump right over there.
Help yourself.’
‘How about my friends here?’ the traveler gestured to the dog and his horse.
‘Of course! They look thirsty, too,’
said the man.
The trio went through the gate, and
sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with buckets beside
it. The traveler filled a cup and the
buckets with wonderfully cool water
and took a long drink, as did his horse
and dog.
the tree. ‘What do you call this place?’
the traveler asked.
‘This is Heaven,’ he answered.
‘That’s confusing,’ the traveler said.
‘The man down the road said that was
Heaven, too.’
‘Oh, you mean the place with the
glitzy, gold street and fake pearly
gates? That’s hell.’
‘Doesn’t it make you angry when they
use your name like that?’
‘Not at all. Actually, we’re happy they
screen out the folks who would leave
their best friends behind.’
Note - this was passed along in an
email and I found it valuable
When they were full, he walked back
to the man who was still standing by
www.ferretsanon.com
January and February 2012
Support FA!
Subscribe to the PawPrint and make a donation!
Contact Info
Anita
[email protected]
Golden State Ferret Society
[email protected]
Hesperia/High Desert
[email protected]
Humboldt
[email protected]
Long Beach
[email protected]
Monterey Bay Ferrets
[email protected]
Phone:
OC Ferrets
[email protected]
Ontario/Riverside
[email protected]
Email:
Ridgecrest/High Desert
[email protected]
Riverside/Corona
[email protected]
San Diego East
[email protected]
San Diego Metro
[email protected]
San Gabriel Valley
[email protected]
Santa Clarita
[email protected]
Vallejo
[email protected]
Ventura
[email protected]
West Coast Ferrets
[email protected]
Member at Large- Kiku
[email protected]
Member at Large- Sharon
[email protected]
Your Name:
Address:
City/State/Zipcode:
The PawPrint is published bi-monthly - every other month,
subscription rate is $20 a year (six issues). It is available
free on line by email as a link in CLIFFNotes.
r
$20 for one year
$_______ Extra donation for Ferrets Anonymous
Please make check out to Ferrets Anonymous and mail to
PO Box 3395,
San Diego, CA 92163
619-303-0645
www.ferretsanon.com
Lost or Found a Fuzzy? Have you lost or found a ferret lately? If you have,
please contact Chris K. at 619-440-8823 or email her at [email protected]
Page 8