The New Zealand Ferret Protection Welfare Society is launching a campaign to have the recently announced ban on pet ferrets reversed.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) has initiated a ban of pet ferrets despite the lack of any evidence that pet ferrets represent a danger to New Zealand’s wildlife.

The ban on ferrets is also inconsistent with the Governments Biosecurity Strategy, which clearly identifies possums, goats, deer, rats, stoats and feral cats as the "most damaging animal pests" in New Zealand. Not one of these other animals has been declared an unwanted organism under the Biosecurity Act, as ferrets have. It is clear that the Government has allowed a misinformation campaign run by ill-informed environmentalists to hijack Government Policy, and divert scarce resources away from more important conservation activities.

Ferret PAWS has been actively promoting responsible pet ownership and we have seen no evidence of our pets being a threat to the environment. We promote legal breeders but by preventing legal ferret farms from supplying pets to the domestic market, DOC will be encouraging back-yard ferret breeders to emerge to meet the demand for pets, and owners will choose not to de-sex their pets so that they can be assured of replacements. If the ban becomes reality, legally vets will not be allowed to de-sex or give treatment to these black market ferrets.

Ferret owners are disappointed at the subterfuge shown by the Government in implementing this ban. In spite of being aware that the ferret community wanted to contribute to the development of policy in this area, the Government waited until after the Biosecurity Amendment Bill 2001 had passed through the select committee stage before announcing that a subtle clause in this Bill would be used to deprive ferret owners of their rights to own ferrets. This delay deprived ferret owners of the opportunity to present their case before a select committee - an opportunity they now seek to have reinstated.