They are extremely playful, equally enjoying playing with other ferrets, who they see as littermates, and with humans. Except during their youth, before they have been trained, ferrets do not bite, and in fact, a serious bite is more than 200 times more likely from a dog. While it is not recommended that ferrets, excitable animals, be left alone with children, also excitable animals, I've never read of ferrets injuring children. No one except California's Department of Fish and Game has many bad things to say about the domestic carpet-shark. Ferrets don't get rabies, they don't bite, and they most certainly don't form feral packs. Ferrets have been domesticated for 2,500 years; they were used in Egypt for the purpose of vermin control. They were also used on ships for the same purpose, and they were sent into rabbit warrens by hunters to chase out rabbits, an activity that was called "ferreting" and was chiefly practiced in Britain. There is one persuasive reason to keep ferrets illegal, and that is the poor record that Californians have when it comes to animals. Californians are considered very irresponsible animal owners; our shelters are the most crowded, and we get the most lost animals reports of any state. Lost ferrets pose no threat to people or animals, they have no chance of surviving in the wild, when lost, and they usually die very quickly. …
