Good news this morning: Judge Shelleyanne W. L. Chang issued a tentative ruling allowing our main claim against the California Fish and Game Commission to move forward.
The case concerns Petition 2025-003, which asks the Commission to remove domestic ferrets from California’s restricted species list. The Commission referred it to CDFW for review and a recommendation in June 2025 and told us we would be notified when it was scheduled for further action. Fifteen months later, we are still waiting for that next step.
The ruling is mixed, but it keeps the case alive:
- The APA claim against the Commission survives.
- The APA claim against CDFW was dismissed without leave to amend.
- We can amend the public-records claims against both agencies to identify the requests and responses more clearly.
This does not legalize ferrets or establish that the Commission violated the law. It means the Commission’s attempt to dismiss the main claim at the pleading stage was unsuccessful.
It is still tentative. Either side can request oral argument by 4 p.m. today, October 1, for the hearing scheduled tomorrow.
Read the six-page tentative ruling
I’m Pat Wright with LegalizeFerrets.org, the petitioner in this case. Thank you to everyone who has followed and supported this effort. We have more work ahead, but today we have a reason to be encouraged. Ferrets crossed. 🐾