The California State Constitution recognizes our right to own domestic animals:

CALIFORNIA STATE CONSTITUTION, CIV DIVISION 2. PROPERTY [654 – 1422]

There may be ownership of all inanimate things which are capable of appropriation or of manual delivery; of all domestic animals; of all obligations; of such products of labor or skill as the composition of an author, the good will of a business, trade marks and signs, and of rights created or granted by statute.

However, the ferret owners of California have never been able to have one of our legislators answer the question -

Does this apply to domestic ferrets? After all, "domestic ferrets" means domestic. California gets around this by saying they are not recognized as normally domesticated in California as determined by the Fish and Game Commission. Ferrets have never had any kind of hearing to determine if they are wild or domestic.

According to the California Attorney General’s website:

As the chief law officer of the state, the California Attorney General provides legal opinions upon request to designated state and local public officials and government agencies on issues arising in the course of their duties. The formal legal opinions of the Attorney General have been accorded “great respect” and “great weight” by the courts.

Government Code section 12519 states:

“The Attorney General shall give his or her opinion in writing to any Member of the Legislature, the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Controller, Treasurer, State Lands Commission, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Insurance Commissioner, any state agency, and any county counsel, district attorney, or sheriff when requested, upon any question of law relating to their respective offices.

“The Attorney General shall give his or her opinion in writing to a city prosecuting attorney when requested, upon any question of law relating to criminal matters.”

Under this statute, the Attorney General may give opinions only to these specified public officials, and not to private individuals or to public officials who are not listed in the statute.

We have asked our legislators and haven't heard back, except from Assemblywoman Akilah Weber's office who said:

"Thank you for following up. I contacted the Department of Justice and they suggested that you submit your inquiry to their Public Inquiry Unit.

DOJ Public Inquiry Unit (PIU) General Comment, Question or Complaint Form | State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General.

Thank you, 
Chevelle Newell-Tate, MPA | District Director
Office of Assemblymember Akilah Weber, MD
79th Assembly District

The request form was promptly submitted and as of yet no response has been received.

One request isn't enough. In order for our voices to be heard we need your support. I hope thousands of people can ask - Can California ban a domestic ferret or does our state constitution mean what it says - domestic animals are legal?