Hey - everyone.. i just wanted to tell everyone about our stupid city law. where I live It is illegal to keep rats as pets!!! can you believe that... how stupid, huh!! if it is found out that you have a rat in your possession for any reason other then a feeder.. it will, be taken away, killed, and the person fined... or possibly go to jail!!! They are extremely hard to find here.. only one pet store sells them as feeders.. and all the breeding is, of course, kept very secret...
but.. i'll tell you one thing.. i have three of them.. and no one is gonna take my babies and put them to sleep!!!
i've never heard of it except here Are they illegal other places too??? or is it just here???

yeah.. rat love... holy ****.. is an under statement!!!
i'm not giving my guys up!! it's a new law here about 3 or 4 years ago... some dude here in town freaked out.. and like had 200 rats and turned them loose in a motel... i know its bizzare,, anyways...since then... they are no longer alowed..... by the way... it's Billings, Montana...

That's horrid! Just because of one incident some places can freak out and ban little ratties  forever. It's like that gerbil thing in CA, ONLY cuz the gerbils took it over  

There's always one idiot to ruin it for everyone.
Even still, what a horrible law for rattie lovers,it wouldn't stop me though!
That's ridiculous to make a law over one incident.  >:(To me that's like saying no dogs or cats allowed.

Though it is a free country, wild rats are a very serious pest, especially in an agrarian community. Unfortunately, domestic rats suffer because of their wild cousins and one stupid human.

Are gerbils illegal in CA?

I though I heard that somewhere, but I wasnt sure. I tried looking it on the fish and game site, but the ways the law is layed out its so confusing and hard to find the info that you need!

-Deedles

hey guys.. thanks for all your imput...
to answer a few questions.... yeah, there are people who still breed and care for rats here.. i guess you could call it "underground" .. in fact...i personally know one of the main breeders.. and most of my close friends, like me, are rat owners... Like u said.."don't ask, don't tell" .. luckily, i have never heard of anyone being caught for keeping them. but them being illegal.. does cause some difficult problems.. such as taking them to the vet, and getting them spayed and neutered... however, i was very lucky to work at a vet clinic here in  town for three years.. and they neutered Cleo for me..and give him regular check-ups, I am very greatful to them for this... Thank goodness for the kind-hearted Veterinarian!!  

I have never heard about gerbils being illegal in California, but ferrets most definitely are. Everyone still has them, though.

it's a new law here about 3 or 4 years ago... some dude here in town freaked out.. and like had 200 rats and turned them loose in a motel... i know its bizzare,, anyways...since then... they are no longer alowed.....

Its only because they are rodents. Some crazy lady did a similar thing north of SF with cats, but they didnt go banning cats.

Actually both Gerbils and Ferrets are illegal in Ca. I've always thought it was pretty silly, but that doesn't actually stop anyone from having them, of vets treating them, or people selling cages, food and accessories for the. You just have to buy your  little furry over state lines.
Anna

Ferrets are illegal to buy and sell in the state of California. I don't believe there is a law forbidding ownership, which is why vets can see them.  But that also means that anyone wanting a ferret would have to leave the state to get one.  I think it might be the same for gerbils...not sure.

I know hedgehogs are illegal to buy and sell in Arizona, and I think they might have  been illegal to own, not sure...but the Petsmart there still sold hedgehog food... laws are wierd.

I was actually going to ask you if you weren't sure if that was an older law that never got erased from the books, but I guess it's not... good thing there is a nice vet there!

I live in CA.  Allow me to expand on what is illegal here.

First of all, the laws have been in place since 1933, so they're really old, and our lawmakers are very conservative.  There are many organizations trying to get the laws changed, but so far no luck.

As for the ferret issue, it is illegal to have one as a pet.  If you are found with one in your home, it will be confiscated, you will be fined $1,000 and you risk 6 months' jail time.  Any illegal animals pose this same risk, and here is a list of them:
Gars
African clawed frog
Alligators
Caimans
Snapping turtles

White-eyes (Zosterops)
Monk (Quaker) parakeet

Short-tailed opossum
Sugar glider
Hedgehogs (all types)

Degu (trumpet-tailed rat)
All gerbils and jirds (such as Duprasi)
Dormouse (all types)
Flying squirrels
All chipmunks and squirrels
Prairie dogs
Gambian giant pouched rat
African striped grass mouse (zebra mouse)
African pygmy mouse
Egyptian spiny mouse


Raccoon
Ringtail
Cacomistle
Coatimundi
Skunks (all types)
Arctic fox (blue fox)
Fennec fox
Wolf-dog hybrids*
Ferret
African lion
Serval
Monkeys, chimpanzees

*as restricted under
CAC, Sec. 671 (c) (2) (K)


Source:  http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hcpb/species/nuis_exo/ferret/ferret_issues_table6.shtml

There are over 500,000 illegal pets in CA, and I believe that number is steadily growing (I had to debate this issue recently so I'm full of numbers & statistics that overlap!  LOL) which proves having the laws in place DO NOT WORK.

Thanks to that increasingly famous San Francisco dog mauling case, it doesn't seem likely that the laws regarding these other animals will change any time soon.

Still, I like CA, and don't mind that there are things we're not supposed to have.  

I do NOT agree that we should be able to "keep whatever we want" for pets just because this is America.  Too many legal animals are mistreated as it is (dogs, cats, hamsters, rats, etc.) and if EVERYTHING was allowed (panthers, bears, & other highly specialized animals) think of all the needless cases of animal abuse that would occur more often than what takes place now, and what it would do to the populations in the wild.  We've already seen what the bird trade has done to many wild species.

Face it, we, the people who actually TAKE CARE OF animals, are the MINORITY.  It's unfortunate that some losers have to ruin everything for the rest of us, but that's just the way it is.

Wow that's quite a list! I'm glad my province is pretty open to a variety of animals as pets. I've even seen raccoons being sold in pet stores (though that seems a bit odd to me...)

New Zealand has just banned Ferrets as pets, due to their "vicious" tendencies and their threat to the native bird life.  The government has chosen to ignore the fact that feral cats are the main problem.  Our so-called conservation minister has a cat at her home on a protected "pest-free" island!!!!!  How can she justify that?

Anyways, I think that it sucks, and I'm kinda worried they might do the same with rats....ignore the truth, or only take selective information.  Honestly, how could my little white/multi coloured rodents survive in the wild?    I just don't get it.....*sigh*  

Wow I am surprised on these two were on the list. I can understand the sugar glider being illegal over the Quaker Parakeet! Quakers are very popular pets...

One day they'll end up banning all pets. Or most of them. That will be a sad sad day.....I hope I never see it...

I've heard from a couple of sources that we have some local law regarding hedgehogs... either it is, or used to be, illegal to own them (possibly within city limits?), or it is or was illegal to sell them. I think the reason, from what little I've heard, is that we have a very, very cold climate in the winters here. We only have a "growing season" of around 4 months here, and we get lots of snow and very cold temps (sub-zero isn't that unusual) during our winters. We've even had snow fall on the 4th of July here before!

Anyway, hedgies need to be kept warm, and I guess that's the concern and the reason for the law or ordinance. I've never been able to verify the actual existence of this law... just a rumor I've heard a few times. Our hedgie was rescued from a family who had lost their interest in her and, frankly, weren't taking overly good care of her anymore, and we always keep a heating pad under the bottom floor of her cage. We're very carefu