This organization was founded in 2005 due to the lack of progress in legalizing ferrets in California. Governor Schwarzenegger had vetoed a ferret amnesty bill in September 2004, stating that an Environmental Impact Report was necessary before considering legalizing domestic ferrets. This decision was made even though California was the only state, besides Hawaii, to prohibit ferret ownership. Furthermore, there was no documented evidence that ferrets caused environmental harm or had significant effects on agriculture and public health, aside from occasional incidents where a ferret might bite someone.

We initially considered pursuing a ballot initiative to legalize ferrets but faced a harsh reality when research conducted by Field Research in 2005 revealed that only 38% of voters would support such a measure. Recognizing our resource limitations, we shifted our focus towards conducting an Environmental Impact Report.

Securing a wildlife biologist willing to undertake this task was challenging, but we were fortunate to hire Dr. Geo Graening from Sacramento State University. Surprisingly, the costs were lower than anticipated as many aspects of the standard EIR did not apply to ferrets. This was a unique situation as no other species had required an EIR for legalization. Despite the challenges, we learned that ferret legalization isn’t as complex as initially thought.

Throughout our journey, our organization has grown significantly. Our free, weekly email newsletter known as CLIFFNotes (California Legalization Initiative For Ferrets) now reaches over 3,000 individuals. Additionally, our Facebook presence has garnered 7,500 followers.

If you share an interest in ferrets in California, we encourage you to join us. Together, we have achieved substantial progress, and we remain hopeful that the day when ferret owners can freely enjoy their pets outdoors is approaching.