By Karen Pearlman
(La Mesa) — Advocates seeking legal recognition for domestic ferrets as companion animals in California will have their day in court this fall.
A fight over how the state has been handling a citizen petition on domestic ferrets is headed to a Sacramento courtroom in October, as the ferret advocacy group Legalize Ferrets presses its case that state wildlife regulators accepted a formal rulemaking request — and then left it unresolved.
Pat Wright, founder of La Mesa-based Legalize Ferrets, filed the underlying petition seeking review of California’s classification of domestic ferrets as restricted wild animals under Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
Earlier this month, members of Heartland Fire & Rescue rescued Simon, a ferret belonging to Pat Wright of Legalize Ferrets, from Wright’s fireplace, where the animal had been trapped. Photo at top courtesy Pat Wright
“According to court filings, the California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously on June 11, 2025, to refer the petition to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for further consideration.
Wright sued the Fish and Game Commission and CDFW in Sacramento County Superior Court under a writ of mandate — a legal mechanism used to compel a government agency to perform a legal duty.
The suit does not ask a judge to legalize ferrets outright. Instead, it asks whether a state agency can take up a citizen petition, begin the review process and then leave it indefinitely unresolved.
“Petitioner does not seek to compel Respondents to legalize domestic ferrets or dictate the substantive outcome of any regulatory decision,” Wright wrote in his opposition brief. “Rather, Petitioner seeks to compel Respondents to complete the procedural framework.”
The state responded with a demurrer ( https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/demurrer), a motion arguing that even if the allegations in the petition are true, they don’t add up to a valid legal claim.
Wright has now filed his opposition to that demurrer, arguing the Commission and CDFW have a “mandatory duty to determine” the regulatory status of ferrets, citing a 1998 San Diego Superior Court case, Marshall Farms USA Inc. v. California Fish & Game Commission that reached a similar conclusion involving the same commission.
A hearing on the demurrer is scheduled for 11 a.m., Friday, Oct. 2 in Sacramento County Superior Court before Judge Shelleyanne W.L. Chang.
The background — and a happy ending tale
Ferrets have been banned as pets in California since 1931; only Hawaii has a similar prohibition.
Wright, who has had ferrets as pets since 1988, has spent decades pushing to change that status — running ballot initiatives, lobbying the Legislature and in 2004, watching a bill that would have legalized ferrets die under a veto from then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The legal fight took a detour last week when one of Wright’s own ferrets, Simon, went missing from his home. After searching the house, Wright’s cat led him to a decades-old fireplace insert, where Simon had become wedged inside the metal structure and could not free himself.
Unsuccessful in trying to lure Simon out, Wright called the La Mesa Fire Department for assistance — Heartland Fire & Rescue took his request seriously and sent two engines.
Firefighters used a camera scope to locate Simon before partially dismantling the fireplace and using rescue tools to free him.
Wright noted that Simon emerged “sooty” but unharmed and had fully recovered within a day.
Wright said the firefighters said nothing about the legality of keeping ferrets in California — just did the right thing in helping his pet safely out of danger.
On Sunday, Aug. 23, Wright brought the firefighting crew an ice cream cake as a way to say thanks.