🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <CE6IM8.Fsp@nas.nasa.gov>,
Eugene N. Miya <eugene@wilbur.nas.nasa.gov> wrote:
>Several other groups are having discussions on introducing
>supposedily tame or domesticated animals into the wild.  Amazing timing.

>You may think these laws stupid, but you should listen to people from places
>like Australia where rabbits and other animals got loose.   Hell, we have
>done enough damage with bees, med flies, bears, wolves, etc.
>Owners who think their pets couldn't possibly survive in the wild are
>clueless to the biology of their pets.  Sure a few will get eaten, but others
>will survive.  The problem is not simply the animal, it's what the animal can
>do to the native populations which can't defend themselves from these animals.
>The issue isn't simply agriculture.  It's understanding ecology and biology.
>Take the discussion there if you need technical explanations.  Consider
>sci.bio, bionet.general (only as a start), etc.

In the particular case that the Subject: is referring to, the experiments
(both controlled and uncontrolled) have already been performed, and
the results are clear and simple:  domestic ferrets simply cannot
establish themselves in the wild.  Domestic ferrets have been kept
in North America for about 300 years, and there are _no_ wild colonies,
no feral ferrets.  Indeed, they've been kept in Europe for thousands
of years, and there are _no_ wild colonies, no feral ferrets there either.
Occasionally people will claim otherwise, but every time it turns out
that the observer is completely clueless and can't tell the difference
between a ferret and a weasel or a skunk or some other animal.

Indeed, in New Zealand, where they intentionally tried to introduce
domestic ferrets into the wild, in climates as varied and even
more hospitable than California's, it didn't work and they all died off.

Chinchillas may indeed be different - because their history of
domestication is far shorter (ferrets are ~3000 years).  But
chinchillas aren't ferrets.

Neither are cats or dogs - and they go feral quite easily, and
do a real number on wildlife.

If this argument is to hold water, why are cats and dogs legal in
California?

No, the real reason is that the ban in California is based upon the
opinions of two PETA-style ("having pets should be illegal!") "experts"
who freely admit that they really don't know anything about ferrets.

Note followups.
-- 
Every once in a while I write something that someone might use
in a signature.  So I go back and make it real spiffy.  No luck.
Then some guy goes and uses *that* dog.  Argh!