I need help with my pet skunk

http://www.skunklaw.com I am trying to rally support for laws in
Illinois to be changed. My
brother got us a pet skunk for a wedding gift. What a strange thing,
huh? After contacting my vet to get all of the appropriate shots I
learned that skunks are illegal in Illinois. As it turns out, every
law
in Illinois results in the killing of the skunk involved. There is an
open year round hunting season. Conservation officers and animal
control officers are ordered to have any skunk they are confronted
with
killed. Even wildlife rehabbers can lose their license for helping an
injured skunk. In Illinois, genocide is the only way.
I am seeking to have the current prohibition policy amended to allow a
conservative permit policy allowing citizens to have a domestic (pen
raised not wild) skunk as a pet.
Pet skunks are allowed in Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin and Kentucky, but
must be killed in Illinois. Every legislator I talk to wishes me the
best and says they will support it, but none will write a bill. This
may sound off of the wall to most of you, but it means life or
death to a member of my family. www.skunklaw.com

http://www.skunklaw.com I am trying to rally support for laws in
Illinois to be changed. My brother got us a pet skunk for a wedding
gift. What a strange thing, huh? After contacting my vet to get all
of the appropriate shots I learned that skunks are illegal in Illinois.

I've only seen pet skunks a few times, when I was living in Pittsburgh.
They're some of the cutest animals I've ever seen, and these seemed to
be dead friendly.

What possible problem could a neutered and destunk skunk be?

==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === http://www.campin.me.uk ====
Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557
CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts

Jack Campin - bogus address wrote:
http://www.skunklaw.com I am trying to rally support for laws in
Illinois to be changed. My brother got us a pet skunk for a wedding
gift. What a strange thing, huh? After contacting my vet to get all
of the appropriate shots I learned that skunks are illegal in
Illinois.

I've only seen pet skunks a few times, when I was living in
Pittsburgh. They're some of the cutest animals I've ever seen, and
these seemed to
be dead friendly.

What possible problem could a neutered and destunk skunk be?

I suspect this is a troll, albeit a cleverly disguised one.

I don't know why some states have the laws they do. IMHO there's absolutely
nothing wrong with a skunk as a pet provided they are (as you say) neutered,
deodorized (LOL) and there is a vet in the area who knows how to treat them.
Same thing with ferrets, which are unbearably cute, but in some states (I
think California is one) it's illegal to own them. Go figure.

Jill

AFAIK she's not a troll. She posted this on some animal newsgroups, and
she's also a member of a Yahoo skunk mailing list that I'm on too.
About skunks being illegal in some states, I think it has to do with their
fear of rabies, especially as there is no good test available for rabies in
skunks.
Ferrets are forbidden in California as they're afraid that the ferrets will
disturb nature when people would dump them in the wild. Most ferrets
wouldn't survive there. Ferrets that are found outside are underfed,
dehydrated and ill most of the time :-(

Nanny

"jmcquown" schreef in bericht
. ..
Jack Campin - bogus address wrote:
http://www.skunklaw.com I am trying to rally support for laws in
Illinois to be changed. My brother got us a pet skunk for a wedding
gift. What a strange thing, huh? After contacting my vet to get all
of the appropriate shots I learned that skunks are illegal in
Illinois.

I've only seen pet skunks a few times, when I was living in
Pittsburgh. They're some of the cutest animals I've ever seen, and
these seemed to
be dead friendly.

What possible problem could a neutered and destunk skunk be?

I suspect this is a troll, albeit a cleverly disguised one.

I don't know why some states have the laws they do. IMHO there's
absolutely nothing wrong with a skunk as a pet provided they are (as you
say) neutered, deodorized (LOL) and there is a vet in the area who knows
how to treat them. Same thing with ferrets, which are unbearably cute, but
in some states (I think California is one) it's illegal to own them. Go
figure.

Jill

"jmcquown" wrote in message
. ..
Jack Campin - bogus address wrote:
http://www.skunklaw.com I am trying to rally support for laws in
Illinois to be changed. My brother got us a pet skunk for a wedding
gift. What a strange thing, huh? After contacting my vet to get all
of the appropriate shots I learned that skunks are illegal in
Illinois.

I've only seen pet skunks a few times, when I was living in
Pittsburgh. They're some of the cutest animals I've ever seen, and
these seemed to
be dead friendly.

What possible problem could a neutered and destunk skunk be?

I suspect this is a troll, albeit a cleverly disguised one.

I don't know why some states have the laws they do. IMHO there's
absolutely nothing wrong with a skunk as a pet provided they are (as you
say) neutered, deodorized (LOL) and there is a vet in the area who knows
how to treat them. Same thing with ferrets, which are unbearably cute, but
in some states (I think California is one) it's illegal to own them. Go
figure.

Jill


Ferrets are illegal here in New York. Several years ago, when Giuliani was
mayor, he had a call-in radio show, which was hilarious, because he would
always get all testy and yell at people who disagreed with him. Well,
someone who loved ferrets called in and said ferrets were certainly not
dangerous (which was the ostensible reason they were outlawed). Giuliani,
in one of his classic moments, told the guy he was sick and needed
psychiatric help to find out why he was "obsessed with weasels."

"Kreisleriana" schreef in bericht
...



"jmcquown" wrote in message
. ..
Jack Campin - bogus address wrote:
http://www.skunklaw.com I am trying to rally support for laws in
Illinois to be changed. My brother got us a pet skunk for a wedding
gift. What a strange thing, huh? After contacting my vet to get all
of the appropriate shots I learned that skunks are illegal in
Illinois.

I've only seen pet skunks a few times, when I was living in
Pittsburgh. They're some of the cutest animals I've ever seen, and
these seemed to
be dead friendly.

What possible problem could a neutered and destunk skunk be?

I suspect this is a troll, albeit a cleverly disguised one.

I don't know why some states have the laws they do. IMHO there's
absolutely nothing wrong with a skunk as a pet provided they are (as you
say) neutered, deodorized (LOL) and there is a vet in the area who knows
how to treat them. Same thing with ferrets, which are unbearably cute,
but in some states (I think California is one) it's illegal to own them.
Go figure.

Jill


Ferrets are illegal here in New York. Several years ago, when Giuliani
was mayor, he had a call-in radio show, which was hilarious, because he
would always get all testy and yell at people who disagreed with him.
Well, someone who loved ferrets called in and said ferrets were certainly
not dangerous (which was the ostensible reason they were outlawed).
Giuliani, in one of his classic moments, told the guy he was sick and
needed psychiatric help to find out why he was "obsessed with weasels."




The radio conversation can be found he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxLP6ni8vVo
I still wonder who was most obsessed with weasels...

Nanny

"Nanny" wrote in message
...
AFAIK she's not a troll. She posted this on some animal newsgroups, and
she's also a member of a Yahoo skunk mailing list that I'm on too.
About skunks being illegal in some states, I think it has to do with their
fear of rabies, especially as there is no good test available for rabies
in skunks.
Ferrets are forbidden in California as they're afraid that the ferrets
will disturb nature when people would dump them in the wild. Most ferrets
wouldn't survive there. Ferrets that are found outside are underfed,
dehydrated and ill most of the time :-(

Nanny


Hi,

As part of my job (I'm a public health microbiologist) I test animals for
rabies, including skunks. Unfortunately testing for rabies means the animal
is euthanized (or already deceased) since we have to remove the brain. From
what I understand, the problem in keeping skunks is the rabies
vaccination--none have been specifically developed for skunks and skunks are
considered to high risk for rabies transmission. Since they are wild I
don't know how much research is being done to either develop a rabies
vaccine for skunks or to research the efficacy of other rabies vaccines.
It's a shame because I've heard they really can make good pets.

HTH, Bonnie

"22brix" schreef in bericht
...

"Nanny" wrote in message
...
AFAIK she's not a troll. She posted this on some animal newsgroups, and
she's also a member of a Yahoo skunk mailing list that I'm on too.
About skunks being illegal in some states, I think it has to do with
their fear of rabies, especially as there is no good test available for
rabies in skunks.
Ferrets are forbidden in California as they're afraid that the ferrets
will disturb nature when people would dump them in the wild. Most ferrets
wouldn't survive there. Ferrets that are found outside are underfed,
dehydrated and ill most of the time :-(

Nanny


Hi,

As part of my job (I'm a public health microbiologist) I test animals for
rabies, including skunks. Unfortunately testing for rabies means the
animal is euthanized (or already deceased) since we have to remove the
brain. From what I understand, the problem in keeping skunks is the
rabies vaccination--none have been specifically developed for skunks and
skunks are considered to high risk for rabies transmission. Since they
are wild I don't know how much research is being done to either develop a
rabies vaccine for skunks or to research the efficacy of other rabies
vaccines. It's a shame because I've heard they really can make good pets.

HTH, Bonnie


You're right, it's about the vaccine, sorry. There was a group, I don't know
if it still exists, that was collecting money for research for a good
vaccine, but the research is terribly expensive.
What I'd like to ask, is all this anxiety about rabies in the US justified,
I mean does it really occur very often or is it just fear ? I'm from
Holland, so I have no idea.

Nanny

"Nanny" wrote in message
...

"22brix" schreef in bericht
...

"Nanny" wrote in message
...
AFAIK she's not a troll. She posted this on some animal newsgroups, and
she's also a member of a Yahoo skunk mailing list that I'm on too.
About skunks being illegal in some states, I think it has to do with
their fear of rabies, especially as there is no good test available for
rabies in skunks.
Ferrets are forbidden in California as they're afraid that the ferrets
will disturb nature when people would dump them in the wild. Most
ferrets wouldn't survive there. Ferrets that are found outside are
underfed, dehydrated and ill most of the time :-(

Nanny


Hi,

As part of my job (I'm a public health microbiologist) I test animals for
rabies, including skunks. Unfortunately testing for rabies means the
animal is euthanized (or already deceased) since we have to remove the
brain. From what I understand, the problem in keeping skunks is the
rabies vaccination--none have been specifically developed for skunks and
skunks are considered to high risk for rabies transmission. Since they
are wild I don't know how much research is being done to either develop a
rabies vaccine for skunks or to research the efficacy of other rabies
vaccines. It's a shame because I've heard they really can make good pets.

HTH, Bonnie


You're right, it's about the vaccine, sorry. There was a group, I don't
know if it still exists, that was collecting money for research for a good
vaccine, but the research is terribly expensive.
What I'd like to ask, is all this anxiety about rabies in the US
justified, I mean does it really occur very often or is it just fear ? I'm
from Holland, so I have no idea.

Nanny


Human rabies is not that common anymore but there are still a few human
deaths each year from rabies. It's not terribly common in domestic animals
either but it still does happen. With such a large reservior of wild
animals, it's probably impossible to totally eradicate it in the US. We've
seen it in a variety of wild animals--bats, skunks, foxes, mountain lions,
raccoons, most mammals can carry rabies. A friend of mine was bitten by a
rabid fox and we see quite a few rabid bats.

As to whether the anxiety is justified, I don't know. Rabies is almost
universally fatal once symptoms start and it's not a nice way to die! It's
definitely out there. Personally, I am more comfortable having my cats
vaccinated! Is Holland considered to be rabies-free?

Bonnie

There was a cluster of rabies deaths in humans due to organ transplantation
several years ago--I have to go to work now so I don't have time to look up
a link to it but it's an interesting (and very scary) story.

"22brix" schreef in bericht
...

"Nanny" wrote in message
...

"22brix" schreef in bericht
...

"Nanny" wrote in message
...
AFAIK she's not a troll. She posted this on some animal newsgroups, and
she's also a member of a Yahoo skunk mailing list that I'm on too.
About skunks being illegal in some states, I think it has to do with
their fear of rabies, especially as there is no good test available for
rabies in skunks.
Ferrets are forbidden in California as they're afraid that the ferrets
will disturb nature when people would dump them in the wild. Most
ferrets wouldn't survive there. Ferrets that are found outside are
underfed, dehydrated and ill most of the time :-(

Nanny


Hi,

As part of my job (I'm a public health microbiologist) I test animals
for rabies, including skunks. Unfortunately testing for rabies means
the animal is euthanized (or already deceased) since we have to remove
the brain. From what I understand, the problem in keeping skunks is the
rabies vaccination--none have been specifically developed for skunks and
skunks are considered to high risk for rabies transmission. Since they
are wild I don't know how much research is being done to either develop
a rabies vaccine for skunks or to research the efficacy of other rabies
vaccines. It's a shame because I've heard they really can make good
pets.

HTH, Bonnie


You're right, it's about the vaccine, sorry. There was a group, I don't
know if it still exists, that was collecting money for research for a
good vaccine, but the research is terribly expensive.
What I'd like to ask, is all this anxiety about rabies in the US
justified, I mean does it really occur very often or is it just fear ?
I'm from Holland, so I have no idea.

Nanny


Human rabies is not that common anymore but there are still a few human
deaths each year from rabies. It's not terribly common in domestic
animals either but it still does happen. With such a large reservior of
wild animals, it's probably impossible to totally eradicate it in the US.
We've seen it in a variety of wild animals--bats, skunks, foxes, mountain
lions, raccoons, most mammals can carry rabies. A friend of mine was
bitten by a rabid fox and we see quite a few rabid bats.

As to whether the anxiety is justified, I don't know. Rabies is almost
universally fatal once symptoms start and it's not a nice way to die!
It's definitely out there. Personally, I am more comfortable having my
cats vaccinated! Is Holland considered to be rabies-free?

Bonnie

There was a cluster of rabies deaths in humans due to organ
transplantation several years ago--I have to go to work now so I don't
have time to look up a link to it but it's an interesting (and very scary)
story.

Rabies is only found in bats here (eblv1), but in the surrounding countries
it still exists in other animals, like foxes.
The last human rabies cases were in 1962 after exposure to an imported dog,
and in 1996 a Dutchman died after he got bitten by a dog in Morocco. I
looked this up for you, my knowledge isn't that good ;-) I vaguely do
remember the scare in 1962 though, dogs all had to have muzzles for a while
then.

Nanny