Of Ferrets and Men: Is It Time to Revise Your Building's Pet Policy?

Jan. 12, 2015 — When's the last time you reviewed your building's pet policy? Co-ops and condo boards, take note, because wherever you fall on the great ferret debate, you may need to do some revising soon. On January 21, there will be a public hearing on the proposal to lift the ban on ferrets in New York City before the Board of Health. So what's the deal with ferrets? Well, we have to delve in a bit of New York City history for this one. About ten years ago or so, says The New York Times, Rudolph W. Giuliani instituted a ban on ferrets, and totally flipped his lid about them on a radio show wherein he not only confused ferrets with weasels (they are similar, to be fair) but also told a "ferret enthusiast" he was "deranged." Ferrets, explains the Times, are legal in the rest of New York State, not to mention other areas in the country. Fast forward to last spring and Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration — it has "proposed removing ferrets from the city's banned-pet list, a zoological rogues' gallery that also includes rhinoceroses, bats and poisonous centipedes." Consider that even if you don't think they're pretty adorable, ferrets are small and quiet — certainly quieter than dogs. At an average of two pounds, these little guys fall somewhere between house cat and old dog, sleeping for about 18 hours a day, according to one ferret owner who talked to the Times about why they make such ideal pets in the city. As for ferret owners being a little bit nuts, well, it's not like they are trying to keep pet rhinos.