A La Mesa-based ferret advocate will have a court hearing this fall in a lawsuit over how California wildlife regulators handled a petition on domestic ferrets, according to East County Magazine.

Pat Wright, founder of Legalize Ferrets, filed the underlying petition seeking review of California's classification of domestic ferrets as restricted wild animals under state regulations. East County Magazine reported that the California Fish and Game Commission voted in June 2025 to refer the petition to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for further consideration.

Wright's lawsuit argues that more than 10 months later, the process had not produced a final written decision, a public hearing or a disposition to the state's Office of Administrative Law. The suit is a writ of mandate case, a legal mechanism used to ask a court to compel an agency to perform a legal duty.

The case does not ask the judge to legalize ferrets outright. Instead, Wright argues state agencies must complete the procedural framework once a citizen petition has been accepted into the review process.

A hearing on the state's demurrer is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 2, in Sacramento County Superior Court. For East County residents, the case is a quirky but real example of how statewide wildlife rules can reach into local households and pet ownership debates.