Thursday, August 11, 2005

By Lynze Wardle
Standard-Examiner staff

OGDEN -- City officials expect to review and possibly change a law banning ferrets in Ogden.

"It seems like the law is really outdated," Councilwoman Amy Wicks said. "I think it's time to give it another look."

City Council Executive Director Bill Cook said Wednesday he would ask city administrators to research a law that classifies ferrets as wild animals and prohibits Ogden residents from owning them. The move comes in reaction to a plea by resident Mary McDonald to be allowed to keep her pet ferret, Einstein.

She asked the council Tuesday to change the law, after Ogden Animal Services discovered the ferret in her apartment Monday.

Wicks, who owned three ferrets when she moved to Ogden, said when the 1971 ordinance was written, there were no federally approved rabies vaccinations for ferrets. Since then, a vaccine has been developed and is widely used, she said.

The pets have grown in popularity in recent years, but have actually been domesticated for centuries, she said.

Stef's Animal Attractions in Ogden has sold 10 ferrets since it opened in March 2004, said owner Stef Butte. She is required by law to tell customers ferrets are illegal in Ogden, and said she makes each person who buys one sign a contract stating they are not Ogden residents.

According to the online animal site EPetsCenter for Pets at www.epetcenter.com, evidence exists that ferrets were kept as companions and rodent hunters more than 2,000 years ago.

Cook said the council will not act until the revsearch on the matter is complete, which should take one to two weeks. Until then, McDonald must comply with the law, and remove Einstein from the city.

McDonald said she left Einstein with friends in an undisclosed location Wednesday morning.

She plans to circulate a petition seeking to change the law.

"I hope this will convince them that this isn't just a little fad that's going to go away," McDonald said. "I know lots of ferret owners (in Ogden), and this issue will be there for them if I don't do something about it."

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