grrr.. i dont understand california!

[Athen]

so i was doing a bit of research because i would like to breed African soft furred rats ( ASF ) to feed my snakes with since they are larger than mice but smaller than rats, do not smell as badly as rats or mice, breed well, colonize well, assist eachother in the raising of the young ( including the males) and are a natural prey item for ball pythons.. sound like the perfect thing right? i mean perfect size natural and not obnoxious when trying to breed... it is perfect.. then the hypocracy that i live in had to step in and rear its incredulously ugly head! alas i read over the grape vine ( also comonly known as a forum on the great world wide interweb) that ASF's are illegal in ca... it couldnt be i thought, but why, they are no different than the mice i am currently raising or the rats that you can buy from petco as a matter of fact they are believed to be the evolutionary link between the two animals why in the world would they be illegal to own in this wonderful piece of land that we so adoringly call the sunshine state.. so me being as incredibly hard headed as i can typically be decided that i would take the ever so profitable route known as google and look this "nonsense" up well a short time later i found some info from the california department of fish and game and sure enough even though ASF's arent directly listed as banned it says the following:

Order Rodentia - Hamsters, Field Mice, Voles, Muskrats, Gerbils, Squirrels, Chipmunks, Woodchucks, and Prairie Dogs

All species (D), except

Domesticated races of rats or mice (white or albino; trained, dancing or spinning, laboratory-reared) not restricted

so i suppose if i taught them to dance... lol

but even more distressing was when my curiosity got the better of me and i decided to continue looking at the list and i found this

K) Order Carnivora - Raccoons, Ringtailed Cats, Kinkajous, Coatis, Cacomistles, Weasels, Ferrets, Skunks, Polecats, stoats, Mongoose, Civets, Wolves, Foxes, Coyotes, Lions, Tigers, Ocelots, Bobcats, Servals, Leopards, Jaguars, Cheetahs, Bears, etc.

Family Felidae - All species (W) except:
Acinonyx jubatus (cheetahs) - (D).
Domestic cats and hybrids of domestic cats are not restricted.

so correct me if i am wrong but did this just say that i am not allowed to keep a ferret but i can keep a cheetah?

further more it clearly states that you can keep a Hominidae as a pet.. again correct me if i am wrong.. but do us humans not reside in that particular grouping? along with gorilla.

so Mr. governator let me get this straight.. i can keep a cheetah or a gorilla or even another human for that matter as a PET but i cannot keep a ferret a hedge hog or even a cute little rodent known as an african soft furred rat as a pet?!?! are you kidding me!

i shall now step down off my soap box and allow any and all of you who would like to comment to do so..

Athen

[Jason]

Originally Posted by Athen

Domesticated races of rats or mice (white or albino; trained, dancing or spinning, laboratory-reared) not restricted
Athen

LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thats just great .. I will pay top dolla for a Albino Rat whom can Dance and spin, well im getting to greedy, im give or take on the albino.... Imho thats just a whole cup full of retarded, breed your dang rats put them on a lazy susan and tell Arnold to eat it

[Athen]

LOL i agree with ya but id have to first find a current breeder to buy them from enter problem.. if they are illegal in CA there will be no breeders that are in public about it and no commercial breeders in their right mind would ship them to me so my only option is to drive to Las Vegas and find one... it might take a while

[Jason]

Im a genius. Go to LV ( cuz what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas ) and Shave the little buggers.. Voila! .. Domestic hairless rats if anyone asks.. this post will self destruct in 10 min to erase any evidence...

[Athen]

ROFL great idea

[froggsong]

OMG, LMFAO... I would say more, but I am a tad too tipsy and laughing too hard to type straight.

[Evilwezal]

That bit of legislation was passed by your good friends at PETA Gotta Love them.

I'd just get some and be done with it. lol

[taipan]

You could contact Arny tell him you enjoyed all his films - especially the Terminator ones & can you keep rat's as pets as he has virtually destroyed mankind & every living thing on earth.
Seriously you guy's are lucky as most Australians cannot keep their own native animals as pets let alone a cheetah,gorilla,another human ( unless they refer to your spouse as a pet ) & a lion ( I did not see lions on your list of illegal animals.

[Athen]

Lion was listed under the umbrella covering carnivora as well as cheetah.. but under the exceptions they included cheetah which was kind of confusing to me... but then again what isnt confusing when it comes to legislation and the government..like i cannot understand why in the world we in the Navy would spend the amount of money we do on somethings i have seen scissors that were priced over 100 dollars... grr it aggrivates me. another thing is the city i live in ( oceanside about 30 miles north of San Diego) just built a firestation that at first i thought was a very nice churh or something it was a very extensive and beautiful building much much more than what is needed for a fire station where the money could have gone to provide more cops for the high crime rate they decided to spend it on an over luxurious firestation.. i seriously am contemplating sueing the city for misappropriation of funds....

[Jason]

Sue them for a couple cheetahs and keep them on the stoop as guards to cover up your illegal underground African soft furred rats breeding ring!