Grace, a 23-year-old who lives on the Upper East Side, has a plan if she’s ever stopped by a cop when she’s walking her three ferrets — Mina, Amy and Louie — in Central Park.
“My roommate [will] say that she’s from Long Island and that’s where the ferrets live,” says Grace, who declined to give her last name for fear of retribution for owning the pets, which aren’t permitted in New York City.
Since the 1950s, there’s been a ban on keeping ferrets in the city. Under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, there were challenges to the ban, but Giuliani fought them off: He alleged that the animals are “naturally inclined to do harm” and, in a now- infamous 1999 radio rant, told a ferret activist that his “excessive concern with little weasels is a sickness.”
But now, thanks to Mayor Bill de Blasio and a few ferret-loving activists, the ban might be lifted by the end of the summer. Ferret owners say their beloved pets deserve to be legal.
“It’s sad to see all this misconception of these cute little animals when there’s so much more [harm] cats and dogs can do,” says Grace.
While rabies and biting were once a concern for New York’s Department of Health, according to a recent department memo, ferrets are no more likely to bite than other small animals.
“As long as you get your pets vaccinated, like you should, then there should be no problem,” says Grace.
Ferret fans say the animals make good city pets, thanks to their tiny size — most ferrets weigh between one and five pounds and are about 18 inches long — and the fact that they remain youthful and playful throughout their lives, about seven years on average.
“[Ferrets] are like a perpetual 2-year-old that never grows up,” enthuses Brenda Johnson, who owns the
Lakeroad Ferret Farm in Naples, NY. “You get a kitten, it grows up. You get a puppy, it grows up.”
Still, while Johnson says ferrets make great city pets, they’re not all that easy to care for. They require special cages at least five feet high, and homes need to be ferret-proofed, as the animals can weasel into holes in the wall, the interiors of a couch or under the stove.
“They die in these terrible situations because they are nosy,” said Liz Lamendola, 32, who owns three ferrets and lives on Long Island, where the animals aren’t banned. “I’ve heard of ferrets that got into a dishwasher.”
The delicate animals are also susceptible to many diseases and require veterinary specialists.
But Lamendola and the others say ferrets are worth the trouble. “How do you not love something so small and fluffy?” she asks.