Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering where Ferrets are illegal to be kept? state, places, etc.. I heard that they are illegal in CA to be kept as pets. Is this true?

yes, theyre illegal in CA. Off the top of my mind, i cant think of any other state outside of hawaii and cali that ban them..i know NYC banned them, and many counties

check ferretcentral.org/com? for a list

sarah

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Sarah
Owned By:|Several small tropical fish (all with names)|1 green iguana, Zephyr|2 ferrets,Kody & Roxy|6 painted turtles, Mikka, Leo, Don, Raphy, April, & Poe|5 goldfish, Curly, Moe, Shark, Wiggle, & Fishie Joe|2 applesnails, Timmy & Tommy|2 hedgehogs, Aiden & Loribelle|2 mud turtles,Shy Guy & Bug|2 budgies, Mac & Cheese|

Yes they are illegal in california and hawaii as well as New york and they are illegal in some cities as well. I know there are some places in Mn that do not allow them, but I am not sure what cities exactly they are. A good way to find out is call the city and ask, they will be able to tell you there.

Are they just illegal to sell?-or illegal to own?
And why is that??

Tanzee

In all honesty, the main reason ferrets are still illegal in some places is cuz people are stupid! They don't do any real research about ferrets the just listen to some stories or assumptions. Several yrs. ago people tried to say that ferrets bite and carry rabies. Well, they can bite- those of us who know them well must agree it is a possibility. But rabies? Of the thousads and thousands of ferrets that have been killed to be tested for rabies none have come back positive in the US and only a handful of cases in Europe were positive. The biggest reason for banning ferrets, to the best of my understanding, is that if they were introduced into the wild (either intentionally or accidentally) they would upset the ecosystem as they are not a species native
to the US (northern hemisphere). See my point? Stupid! If they did some very basic research they would know that: #1- these ferrets are not native anywhere anymore; #2 they have been domesticated for thousands of yrs.; #3 they do not hunt; #4 a domesticated ferret can only live for 3-4 days when dumped outside somewhere (or escape) regardless of the climate. See? Stupid! Nancy

The above post is correct. CA bans ferrets b/c they say they're wild animals and a danger (bogus) and they would establish a feral colony and threaten native life and chicken farms. Anybody with a ferret knows just how likely their fuzzy is to establish a ferral colony and attack children. AND, Tyson Chicken owns several large chicken farms in CA and are on record as saying they are not worried about wild ferrets at all.

PLUS, the black-footed ferret (native to the West, in the same family but a wild cousin) would be extinct right now without extreme preservation projects. A wild ferret-cousin native to North America can't survive without help but tame ferrets can?