Council Member Kathyrn Freed's Bill to Legalize Ferrets
Council Members who voted in FAVOR of legalizing ferrets on 5/9/01
The
Following Council Members Voted
in Favor of Legalizing Ferrets.
Is
Your Council Member on the "YES"
list?
Find
out the name of YOUR Local Council Member
If your Council Member is listed below, be SURE to write them a very nice thank you letter immediately! Call their offices today and leave a thank you message as well. Let them know you're a member of their district, explain how important this issue is to you and let them know how much you appreciate their support. Also let them know that you hope they will continue to support the legalization of ferrets in NYC in the future.
Find anyone else you know in their district (neighbors, family) and ask them to write similar letters. If possible, it would also be a good idea to write thank you letters to all the Council Members who voted yes -even if they're not from your district.
Remember, at the very least, to write thank you letters to Kathryn Freed, Peter Vallone, and YOUR Local Council Member (if your Council Member is listed below!).
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Herbert E. Berman |
VOTED YES!
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Adolfo Carrion Jr. |
VOTED
YES!
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Stephen DiBrienza |
VOTED
YES!
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June M. Eisland |
VOTED
YES!
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Ronnie M. Eldridge |
VOTED YES! Co-Sponsor of the bill "I don't understand this controversy about ferrets. We're not saying that people HAVE to have ferrets as a pet, we're saying if they WANT to have a ferret, let them have it! ....it's legal in the State and it's legal in many other States..." "...those who seem to be opposing [legalizing ferrets today] are the ones who usually want to decrease the role of government in our lives, so for them to particularize about what pet you can have seems to me to be to be kind of contradictory." |
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Stephen J. Fiala |
VOTED YES! Cosponsor of the bill |
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Kenneth K. Fisher |
VOTED YES! Very
pro-animal, pet friendly office. |
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Kathryn E. Freed |
VOTED YES! SPONSOR of the bill Ms. Freed has been working extremely hard on our behalf since BEFORE the ban even went into effect! Without her there would not be a bill to legalize ferrets and the DOH's ban would very likely have continued unquestioned by any political figure in NYC. Ms. Freed has attended every public hearing regarding this bill, including those that took place in committees she wasn't even a member of! Ms. Freed and her staff have also spent hours on the phone and in person with each council member to fight for the rights of ferret owners in NYC. |
|
Julia Harrison |
VOTED YES! Staff said she thinks ferrets are cute little furry animals and doesn't have any problem with them at all. |
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Sheldon S. Leffler |
VOTED YES! Mr. Leffler abstained at the initial Health Committee vote and seemed to be against the bill. But in the weeks that followed, he reviewed all the material presented to him on ferrets and did a complete turnaround. He said it was clear to him that ferrets did not pose a threat and that even the data presented to him by the DOH proved that as well! "I was reluctant to disregard the Health Department's position....since my abstention I have further considered the arguments for and against Intro 627-A... and I find the Department's conclusion that ferrets are a public health threat hard to reconcile with the available information, including the information the administration has provided to us." "...according to the mayor's own memo, it specifically says that the risk of rabies has been mooted." "I don't see the reason for distinguishing between ferrets as pets and cats and dogs which we've permitted for generations... I'm reassured by the experience of 48 States, including New York, where the legal ownership has not caused a public health problem..." |
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Guillermo Linares |
VOTED YES! Cosponsor of the bill |
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Margarita Lopez |
VOTED YES! "I am against the death penalty against human beings, I am not going to be in favor of killing these animals who are not hurting anybody!"
We spoke with a very funny, friendly and energetic Ms. Lopez after the vote. She thought the whole ban was ridiculous and also stated "...I am allergic to lots of animals, but if other people want to have them, let them have them! What's the big deal?! They don't hurt anybody!" |
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Helen M. Marshall |
VOTED
YES!
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Stanley E. Michels |
VOTED YES! Got LOTS of mail asking him to vote YES! |
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A. Gifford Miller |
Cosponsor of the bill "My
baby does not smell like a rabbit!" Mr. Miller's roommates in college had a pet ferret and he stated that it never bothered anybody, never attacked anybody, and he was never concerned about it. He admits it wasn't his favorite pet but his roommates loved it and there was never a problem. "[The Administration has said] 'why is the council spending it's time on this ferret issue.' ...The reason that we're having to spend our time on this is that the administration sort of plucked out of thin air this ridiculous policy of banning ferrets in this City. ....If they hadn't spent so much time persecuting ferrets, we wouldn't have to spend our time vindicating their rights." "... if there's anything that a legislator is supposed to do it's supposed to clear up ridiculous Administration policies! That's what we're doing today." |
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Eva S. Moskowitz |
VOTED YES! Voted YES at the Health Committee vote as well If Ms. Moskowitz had not voted "YES" at the Health Committee vote, our bill would not have made it to the Full City Council for a vote. |
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Jerome X. O'Donovan |
VOTED
YES!
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Bill Perkins |
VOTED YES!
Mr. Perkins accurately corrected another Council Member and stated for the record that "A ferret is not a rat. Quite the opposite, ferrets hunt rats." |
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Morton Povman |
VOTED
YES!
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Madeline Provenzano |
VOTED
YES!
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Christine Quinn |
VOTED YES! Cosponsor
of the Bill If Ms. Quinn had not voted "YES" at the Health Committee vote, our bill would not have made it to the Full City Council for a vote. |
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Philip Reed |
VOTED YES! Voted YES at Health Committee vote as well If Mr. Reed had not voted "YES" at the Health Committee vote, our bill would not have made it to the Full City Council for a vote. -FYI, Mr. Reed almost didn't make it to the Committee vote because he was stuck on a train! But he called ahead on his cell phone to let them know that he was on his way. We're very thankful that he did! |
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No Photo Available
Joel Rivera |
VOTED YES! Received LOTS of calls and letters asking him to vote YES. |
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Victor L. Robles |
VOTED YES! Chair
of the Health Committee As the Chair of the Health Committee, Mr. Robles decided when his Committee would review and vote on certain issues. Without his support, our bill may not have made it this far. As with the other Committee members who voted in favor of our bill, had Mr. Robles had not voted "YES" at the Health Committee vote, our bill would not have made it to the Full City Council for a vote. |
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John D. Sabini |
VOTED YES! Cosponsor of the bill "I think we should welcome our brother weasels into the realm of the legal."
Mr. Sabini stated that he was a proud sponsor of the ferret bill. As a child he had many allergies and had many mice, hamsters and gerbils as pets. He admitted that they sometimes bit but that it was no big deal. He sees no evidence of ferrets being a public health threat in NYC or in any of the other 48 states. Mr. Sabini thinks that people who love their pets should be allowed to keep them, particularly those who have certain limitations, such as allergies, and don't have the option of having a cat or a dog as a pet. |
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Peter F. Vallone |
VOTED YES! Speaker for the Full City Council. Mr. Vallone is the man with the power to schedule our bill for all City Council votes. The City Council often votes in favor of issues that Mr. Vallone, as the Speaker, is in favor of. |
<-- More information on the May 9, 2001 vote.
<-- More information on Kathryn Freed's bill to legalize ferrets