Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 321 CMR - DIVISION OF FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE › Title 321 CMR 2.00 - Miscellaneous Regulations › Section 2.07 - Possession, Sale, and Use of Ferrets

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
In accordance with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 131, § 77,
				as amended by St. 1995, c. 290, rules and regulations regarding the possession,
				sale, and use of ferrets are hereby established.
(1)
Definitions
.
Director
means the Director of the
				Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, or his or her agents.
Educational Institution
means a person
				meeting those standards for educational use specified in
				321
				CMR 2.12(2) and
				(10)(b).
Environmental Police Officer
means the
				Director of the Office of Law Enforcement, deputy directors of enforcement,
				chiefs of enforcement, deputy chiefs of enforcement, environmental police
				officers, deputy environmental police officers, and such other enforcement
				officers of the Office of Law Enforcement as may be appointed pursuant to
				M.G.L. c. 21, §6.
Ferret
means the ferret, fitch, or
				fitchew (
Mustelafuro
or
Mustela putorius
				furo
).
Person
means any individual,
				partnership, corporation, whether profit or non-profit, firm, business or other
				commercial or non-commercial entity, club, organization, institution, or
				association.
Pet Shop
means a pet shop as defined
				in M.G.L. c. 129, § 1.
Received Inoculations Against Canine Distemper and
				Rabies
means that the subject ferret shall have received a minimum
				of the first shot in the inoculation series for those diseases and such others
				as may be required by the Director, provided that the subject ferret shall
				subsequently receive the remainder of the inoculation series, if any, and shall
				periodically receive any required booster shots or reinoculations, if any, and
				provided further that the burden of proof shall rest upon the owner thereof to
				demonstrate that such requirements for periodic shots or inoculations have been
				complied with. The earliest date at which said inoculations may begin shall be
				determined by the schedule set forth on the manufacturer's label or
				instructions for the particular vaccine being used, or equivalent standards set
				by a competent veterinary authority.
Research Institution
means a person
				meeting those standards for scientific use specified in
				321
				CMR 2.12(2) and
				(10)(a).
(2)
Possession and Sale of
			 Ferrets
. Ferrets may be possessed as a household pet, for research
			 by a research institution, for educational purposes by an educational
			 institution, for breeding purposes by a licensed breeder, or sale by any such
			 person, when in accordance with provisions of M.G.L. c. 131, § 77, and 321
			 CMR 2.07.
(3)
Inoculations
. Ferrets possessed as a household pet or
			 by an educational institution must have received inoculations against canine
			 distemper and rabies at time of purchase. Ferrets offered for wholesale or
			 retail sale by a licensed breeder or a pet shop must have received inoculations
			 against rabies and canine distemper prior to sale or offering for
			 sale.
(4)
Neutering and
			 spaying
. No person, except a research institution, or a licensed
			 breeder as provided in 321 CMR 2.07(5), shall possess, sell, or offer for sale
			 a ferret which has not been surgically neutered or spayed and rendered
			 incapable of breeding.
(5)
Breeding of ferrets
. No person, except a research
			 institution, shall breed a ferret or possess a ferret for breeding purposes
			 without obtaining a license so to do from the Director. Persons so licensed
			 shall be allowed to offer for wholesale or retail sale ferrets which are the
			 offspring of animals propagated or maintained by said breeder, provided that
			 ferrets so offered for sale shall have received inoculations and have been
			 neutered or spayed as provided in 321 CMR 2.07(3) and (4). The offspring of
			 ferrets bred by a research institution shall not be sold or offered for
			 sale.
(6)
Breeding
			 facilities
. Licensed breeders, as provided for in 321 CMR 2.07(5),
			 shall comply with the standards for licensing, facilities, inspections,
			 renewals, reports, and related provisions as provided for in
			 321
			 CMR 2.12(4) through (9), (15), (17), (18), and (21) through
			 (23).
(7)
Certificates to accompany
			 sale of ferrets
. Any ferret sold or offered for sale by any person
			 must be accompanied by certificate(-s) from a licensed veterinarian, or in the
			 case of canine distemper by any other proper person, stating that the ferret
			 has received inoculations against rabies and canine distemper and, in addition,
			 has been neutered or spayed and rendered incapable of breeding, provided, that
			 ferrets which have not been rendered incapable of breeding may be sold by a
			 licensed breeder or research institution to another licensed breeder or
			 research institution. Each such certificate shall include the name, address,
			 telephone number, and veterinary license number of the veterinarian or other
			 person administering inoculations, or performing neutering or spaying, as the
			 case may be, and the date(-s) on which inoculations, neutering or spaying, took
			 place.
(8)
Record
			 keeping
. Any person, except a research institution, possessing a
			 ferret shall possess and keep the two most recent certificate(-s) of
			 inoculations as provided for in 321 CMR 2.07(7). Any person, except a licensed
			 breeder or a research institution, possessing a ferret shall have in their
			 possession certificate(-s) of neutering or spaying as provided for in 321 CMR
			 2.07(7). Licensed breeders shall have in their possession the license issued by
			 the Director allowing them to breed and possess ferrets which have not been
			 neutered or spayed and rendered incapable of breeding. Any such records,
			 certificates or licenses shall be shown upon demand at reasonable hours to the
			 Director, an Environmental Police Officer, or other officer empowered to
			 enforce M.G.L. c. 131.
(9)
Prohibitions
. It is unlawful for any person:
(a) to possess, sell or offer for sale a
			 ferret which has not been neutered or spayed, except by a licensed breeder or a
			 research institution;
(b) to
			 possess, except by a research institution, or, in the case of a licensed
			 breeder a ferret which has not attained the minimum age for inoculations, a
			 ferret which has not received inoculations against canine distemper and
			 rabies;
(c) to sell or offer for
			 sale a ferret which has not received inoculations against canine distemper and
			 rabies;
(d) to falsify any license
			 application or renewal or certificate; provide false documentation in support
			 of a license application or renewal or certificate; or fail to provide relevant
			 and material information regarding a license application or renewal or
			 certificate;
(e) who is a breeder
			 to keep and maintain ferrets in enclosures or under conditions which fail to
			 meet inspection standards or conditions set by the Director;
(f) to liberate or allow the escape of any
			 ferret to the wild;
(g) to hunt
			 for, catch, kill or cause to permit the hunting of any vertebrate animal with
			 or through the use of a ferret;
(h)
			 to have a ferret in one's possession or under one's control in any field,
			 forest, or woodland or other place where wild birds or mammals may be found;
			 and
(i) to fail to maintain records
			 or certificates of inoculations against rabies and canine distemper, and of
			 neutering and spaying, or to refuse to provide such records or certificates to
			 any Environmental Police Officer or the Director.