Santa Clarita’s City Council was confronted by ferret advocates at their meeting Tuesday.
Members of Angel City Ferret club, who aim to get L.A. County local governments to pass ordinances to help in the effort to legalize ferrets, asked the council to issue a proclamation in support of their cause.
“We’ve come to the local level to add credibility to the cause,”Angel City Ferret Club Founder Megan Mitchell said. “Santa Clarita being ferret-friendly would simply mean you believe this law from the 1930’s is outdated.”
Several pet stores in Santa Clarita sell ferret merchandise and multiple veterinarians treat the animal, according to Mitchell.
Legalizing ferrets would save the city money in regulation costs and will encourage ferret owners from other states to come to Santa Clarita, according to Valencia resident Laura Lee.
“There are no negatives,” Lee said.
Council members were not opposed to the issue and asked for more information to see if they might be on board for issuing a proclamation.
“I’d like to look into this and be friendly to the folks and the animals that are not doing anyone any harm,” Councilwoman Laurene Weste said. “I think that having the criminalization of these pets is wrong. They are not dangerous.”
Mayor Cameron Smyth urged the group to submit facts to the council to sift through in order to agendize the issue next year.
“I’m not anti-ferret,” Smyth said.
Focusing on gaining local support to make statewide change is the best tactic, according to Councilman Bill Miranda.
“I would congratulate your group for going about this the right way,” Miranda said. “That’s the way you implement changes.”
