However, the law states that criminal charges or even jail time are possible for possessing ferrets. We strongly recommend that you do not break this law – it simply is not worth it for you or the ferret! Pet ownership laws for “exotic animals” like ferrets can be confusing. Even governments in the same country differ on whether they consider ferrets illegal or not. The U.S. states of New York, California and Hawaii are prime examples. Despite intense lobbying to legalize ferrets in California, you can`t legally keep a ferret in California without a license. Although controversial among ferret enthusiasts, the California Department of Wildlife believes that escaped or abandoned pet ferrets pose a significant risk to rare native California animals and birds. As a result, ferrets cannot be legally imported, transported, or possessed in California unless a permit is issued for specific legal purposes, such as medical research or transporting rescued ferrets out of state. Ferrets are mustelids, the biological family that also includes otters, mink, weasels and polecats. Originally domesticated for pest control, they are now extremely popular and legal pets in any or all of any state except California and Hawaii. Ferrets are technically illegal for keeping pets in the District of Columbia.
An attitude law lists the only animals that can be legally kept indoors: dogs, cats, rabbits, domestic rodents, fish, turtles, non-venomous snakes, caged birds and carrier pigeons. However, the District of Columbia Department of Health grants exemptions on a case-by-case basis, allowing residents to obtain a permit. Given the prevalence of wild squirrels in California, you may be surprised to learn that it`s illegal to keep one as a pet. Hawaii is another state that prohibits the possession of ferrets. Ferrets are illegal because they could easily return to their wild state and be a potential carrier of rabies. Hawaii is free of this disease, and they want it to stay that way! There are many reasons why ferrets are banned. These include concerns about bites, aggression and how they tend to colonize when fleeing, threatening native wildlife. They are known to be incredibly demanding pets. Having a ferret as a pet can essentially be like a toddler.
If they are not properly cared for or do not have enough space to live properly with lots of bedding and enrichment, they can become very destructive. It is also known that these animals easily return to their wild state, potentially becoming carriers of rabies. Owning a ferret as a pet was banned in California in 1933. Over the years, many ferret lovers have lobbied the state legislature to make ferrets legal. However, the legislator has not budged from its position for almost 100 years. Badgers are short-legged omnivores of the family Mustelidae (which also includes otters, wolverines, martens, minks, ferrets and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than natural taxonomic group, united by their stocky bodies and adaptations to fossorial activity. All belong to the caniform suborder of carnivorous mammals. Call our law firm for legal advice.
We offer free consultations. In California, it is illegal to sell, import, transport or keep ferrets as pets unless you have a license from the California Department of Fish and Game. No permit is issued for the possession of a home. They are issued only in special circumstances, for example for medical research or to remove confiscated or rescued ferrets from the state. The national ban is based on concerns that escaped and discarded ferrets could establish unnatural wild populations that would compete with native wildlife and disrupt the ecosystem. Ferrets are not illegal in South Africa, but you must meet certain criteria. You will also need a permit to keep a ferret as a pet. According to the National Environmental Management Biodiversity (NEMB), ferrets are a highly invasive species. Ribeiro says Portugal`s refusal to allow ferrets within its borders causes inconvenience to ferret owners who travel on holiday or those who want to travel with their pets. There are many reasons why ferrets are illegal.
These include concerns about aggression, bites and how they can colonize if they run away. Colonization can threaten native wildlife, which is why ferrets are banned in many countries. All five boroughs of New York City (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island) ban ferrets, but they are legal throughout the state. In 1999, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani banned ferrets, seeing them as vicious relatives of weasels that pose a health risk to residents of densely populated areas. As with hedgehogs, it is illegal to keep ferrets as pets in California, Hawaii, New York, and Washington, DC. These mammals — which belong to the same genus as weasels — are also banned in other cities such as Dallas, Texas, and Columbia, Missouri. In addition to birds, ferrets destabilize several other species populations, including: This law is quite controversial, with many people claiming that ferrets pose no threat to local ecosystems. They believe that those who want ferrets should be able to adopt and keep them. Ferrets are not illegal here, but you will have to prove to the authorities that your pet is a ferret and not a weasel. Ferrets are legal in Western Australia, but their close relatives are not.