Sierra Club Cites Fish and Game as Reason for the Ferret Ban, Fish and Game cites “Being Sued by the ‘Environmentalists’” as Reason for the Ferret Ban
Our efforts in front of the California Fish and Game Commission were pretty much suspended after Commission President Eric Sklar told me on May 3rd 2017 from our blog:
He explained that their hands are tied on ferrets because it would require a full-blown EIR. He said (and I think he meant this unofficially) that we would have to pay $200,000 but when all finished it would be $600,000. And afterwards the Commission would be sued by environmental groups opposing it.
His advice was to get a Legislator, because legislation isn’t subject to CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act)
But attracting a legislator to introduce a ferret legalization bill has not been successful, mainly based on opposition from environmental groups – notably the Sierra Club.
“Sierra Club has long opposed holding wild animals as pets, but particularly when those animals could present a problem if they accidentally or intentionally are introduced into the state’s natural areas. There are many, many examples of exotic critters that have become problems in California after being introduced into the wild. One that I am very familiar with is the bull frog, which has helped push out other amphibian species in certain habitats since its introduction in the 19th century.”
Kathryn Phillips kathryn.phillips@sierraclub.org
That statement from Ms. Phillips led us to a Change.org petition asking the Sierra Club to change its position. They received the petition and related reports on June 17th, 2019 – and as of June 24th there has been no response. But one of our members did get a response:
I have checked with the chairman of the Sierra Club California conservation committee and he reports that our position is to follow the lead of the California Fish and Wildlife Department, which is concerned that if pet ferrets were to escape, they would threaten native wildlife. The Sierra Club position is to support the state wildlife professionals. If the agency changes its position and finds that ferrets pose no threat the Sierra Club will consider changing its position at that time. I’m very sorry that you feel you must resign your membership over this issue when there is so much else we agree upon.
Bruce Hamilton <bruce.hamilton@sierraclub.org
The California Fish and Game Commission cites “environmentalists” as the reason for banning in ferrets. California’s premier Environmental organization, the one which politicians listen to – cite the California Fish and Game Commision as their reason for the ban.
So there you have it. One side cites the other. Neither has any science, only concerns about what may happen. We have the reports and documentation to prove that no feral population of ferrets has ever been documented in North America.
But we aren’t an influential organization with a large membership and budget.
We will be asking the Fish and Game Commission to re-evaluate their position on banning domestic ferrets as not only science, but fairness demands it.