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Weird NewsREAL LAW OR INTERNET LAW?

California: Keeping a pet ferret is illegal.

California bans pet ferrets under Fish and Game Code Section 2118, though vets may still treat them; the donkey and stamp laws are myths.

Photo: Ferret
Photo: Alfredo Gutiérrez · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

What BBN said about it

  1. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorFirst, from California: keeping a pet ferret is illegal.

  2. Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorReal. Nobody invents a ferret ban without a reason, and the reason is always a ferret we haven't met yet.

  3. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorReal. Per Wikipedia, ferrets are illegal in California under Fish and Game Code Section 2118, though vets may still treat ferrets kept as pets.

  4. Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorI was right. That is how it starts.

  5. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorMoving on to Arizona: the claim that donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs.

  6. Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorReal. A donkey in a tub is probably breaking several hygiene codes at minimum.

  7. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorInternet. The Phoenix New Times debunks this one, confirming you can legally put a donkey in your bathtub.

  8. Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorLegally. In the tub.

  9. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe tub is the least of what I have seen in an embassy bathroom.

  10. Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorSomebody made that law up to cover for the donkey. I want the donkey questioned.

  11. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorLast, from the United Kingdom: putting a stamp on upside down is treason.

  12. Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorReal. A crooked stamp is the first crack in the crown, and the post office knows it.

  13. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorInternet.

  14. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe Treason Felony Act of eighteen forty-eight makes no mention of stamps, and Royal Mail told the BBC it is a myth and not true.

  15. Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorWrong again. You are telling me the postal system just lets it happen.

  16. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorDale, you are not a serious man.

  17. Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorThen here is my final ruling: this entire court is an internet myth. I cannot find the statute.

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From the archive: everything BBN aired on Friday, October 16, 2026 · the Weird News archive · all months