Why are Gerbils illegal in California?

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Why are Gerbils illegal in California?

Growing up on the East coast, I had quite a few friends who, like many other people across the world, owned and cared for gerbils as their own pets. Gerbils always seemed like docile and cute creatures to me, but I was never able to own one as a child. My family was more into the traditional pets like dogs and cats which was always totally cool with me. Recently, I found out that if I was a child growing up in California, I would not have even had the chance to own a gerbil as a pet. The fact of the matter is that they are actually illegal to own as pets in the state of California.

This might come as a surprise to a lot of people out there. It certainly did for me when I first heard about it. The reasoning behind the banning of owning a gerbil as a pet in California seems pretty acceptable, but at the same time I think it is a little bit weird that California is the only state in the country to have this random law in place. The law states that the gerbils, if let loose into the wild, could pose a threat to wildlife and could possibly be destructive to their natural habitat. I do not necessarily agree with that way of thinking, but that is the way it is.

So, unfortunately for any child growing up and living in California, they will never get to experience what it would be like to own and care for a gerbil as a pet. This seems pretty harsh, but I guess the fact that gerbils are not the most sought after pets to begin with might mean that they are not missing out on much as it is. Either way, let us hope that they do not start destroying gerbils out of the fear that they might start chewing down trees or harming wildlife in any way. That would just be ridiculous.

Author: radan

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One Response

  1. Deneane

    January 19, 2014 8:44 pm

    Ok I am surprised to learn they are illegal to own, however are they illegal to sell as well because I know they are sold in pet shops all over the place. You may want to include a reference to this detail in the article, unless of course you already have and decided to omit the information for obvious reasons.

    Thank you for your attention and cooperation in this matter. I look forward to hearing from you.

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