If they escape, ferrets have no ability to survive on their own. This represents a limited geographical area during a limited time frame, and not all stray ferrets found in the Central California area would necessarily be turned into that facility. Many ferrets are trained by their owners as househunters or rabbit hunters, and are therefore skilled at predating on other species. AB 363 calls for all ferrets to be spayed or neutered, so under this law they could not breed in the wild. That regulation would be very difficult to enforce, and even individual ferrets could have an impact on certain endangered species.
Ferrets pose less a risk to native species than cats and dogs.
This may or may not be true, but cats and dogs are already legal. Since the Sierra Club took a positionon this issue, the Sacramento office and the national office in San Francisco have been the targets of a broad, often bitter, campaign by ferret enthusiasts. AB 363 was on the Assembly floor's inactive file as of last week, but the author gave notice of intent to remove it from the inactive file yesterday, May 19. It will probably come up for vote on the Assembly floor next week. Ferret fanciers have generated a lot of support for the bill with their phone, letter, and email campaign to legislators, and they have already won over a number of Assembly Members who are usually on our side.