After years of slinking around, New York City ferrets and their fans may get to go aboveground.
The city Board of Health is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to lift a longstanding ban on keeping the animals as pets.
Related to weasels, ferrets have gained popularity as pets in recent decades. Many states have lifted ferret bans over the past 25 years. California and Hawaii still have them, as does Washington, D.C.
The city has long defined ferrets as wild animals and generally prohibited them, but the ban became specific in 1999.
Ferret fanciers say it reflects an unfair, outdated view of their inquisitive, playful companions.
But some New Yorkers feel ferrets don't belong in the dense city.
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