NYC Board of Health to Ferrets: And Stay Out!

March 12, 2015 — Nearly two months ago, we gave co-op and condo boards a heads up about a public hearing on the proposal to lift the ban on ferrets in New York City before the Board of Health. Had the ban been lifted, board would have had to review their existing pet policies and revise them as needed to reflect where they stand on the great ferret debate. Clear language is everything. But it looks like that won't be necessary, according to Brickunderground.com, which has been on ferret watch "since last summer, when Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration indicated that they'd be up for nixing his predecessor Rudolph Giuliani's ban, enacted in 1999, on these little critters." The Associated Press delivered the bad news to ferret proponents: The Board of Health has said no way. Although "the proposal to nix the ferret ban would have required the animals to be vaccinated for rabies, sterilized and restrained when outdoors," some health board members are still digging their heels and pointing to cases "elsewhere" in which ferrets have bitten children. "I have to say that, at this point, I'm not at all convinced that it wouldn't be a substantial health risk to allow ferret ownership in New York City," board member Dr. Lynn Richardson is quoted as saying.