Legalize
Ferrets

After all, they’re called Domestic Ferrets!

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Our Start

The beginning of Ferrets Anonymous

In 1993, Ferrets Anonymous emerged as a voice for ferret lovers in San Diego County, embarking on a mission to challenge legislative hurdles and build a supportive community.

The journey began with a call to action, reaching out to local legislators for support. Despite initial setbacks, including Senator Lucy Killea’s dismissal, the group persevered. Their determination culminated in the Ferret Legalization Rally, drawing media attention and gathering around 40 passionate individuals.

Buoyed by the rally’s success, Ferrets Anonymous convened to formalize their organization. A chance encounter with a neighboring Narcotics Anonymous meeting led to a humorous yet fitting moniker: Ferrets Anonymous.

Ferrets are Domestic

Ferrets are domestic

According to our state civil code, domestic animals are legal. However, the Fish and Game Commission has circumvented this by misclassifying ferrets as wild or stating that their domestic status hasn’t been confirmed in California.

Despite our repeated requests, the Commission has refused to stop labeling ferrets as wild animals. They claim that doing so would relinquish their jurisdiction over ferrets, but we later discovered this isn’t true.

We have been searching for an attorney over this issue without success. Read the blog post here.

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3000 Club

Join the 3000 Club

In 2005, LegalizeFerrets.org was established with a clear mission: to pursue a ballot initiative aimed at legalizing ferrets. Our strategy involved rallying 3000 individuals to support our cause. They could either contribute $10 and commit to gathering 100 signatures or opt for a $100 membership, thus joining the esteemed 3000 Club.

While we have yet to reach our goal of 3000 members, the initiative persisted as the most promising avenue for advancing ferret legalization.

We are still accepting memberships, you can join here!

CLIFF

CLIFF

In 2015 we filed a ballot initiative, CLIFF; Californians Legalization Initiative for Ferrets. Our goal was to get 90,000 signatures to trigger a legislative hearing. We knew we didn’t have a chance of getting the 360,000 signatures to put the initiative on the ballot. Unfortunately we fell way short, only collecting a little over 10,000 signatures.

We did learn that people are increasingly more familiar with ferrets, that younger people especially not only favor legalization but laugh at the prohibition. We also learne

In 2015, we took a bold step forward by filing the CLIFF initiative (Californians Legalization Initiative for Ferrets). Our ambitious aim was to gather 90,000 signatures, which would trigger a legislative hearing. Realistically, we knew attaining the 360,000 signatures required to place the initiative on the ballot was beyond reach. Regrettably, we fell significantly short, only managing to collect a little over 10,000 signatures.

Despite this setback, valuable insights were gained from our efforts. We discovered a growing familiarity with ferrets among the public, particularly among younger demographics who not only support legalization but also find humor in the prohibition. However, our failure to meet the signature target was perceived by legislators as a signal that ferret legalization is not a pressing issue requiring their attention.

d that legislators saw our failure as a sign that ferret legalization is not something they have to be concerned with.