The difference between owning a ferret in Hawaii and one in Pennsylvania can be up to three years in jail — and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

That’s the penalty for ferret fans in the Aloha State, where the 3-pound members of the weasel and polecat family are banned amid concerns of the animals escaping and wreaking havoc on the islands’ delicate ecosystems.

Similar fears are behind a decades-old ban in California, which has one of the nation’s most diverse ecosystems.

“The concern is that if these animals were released, like other non-native species have been, they would adapt and thrive and out-compete native species for food, and prey on native species,” said Adrianna Shea, deputy director of California’s Fish and Game Commission.

States have had problems with feral animals in nonnative environments, creating problems for native species by eating them or ravaging their food supply. Feral cats, for example, have decimated bird populations.

In Hawaii, the introduction of the mongoose to combat a rat problem “was a very poor idea. Rats are nocturnal and mongooses are diurnal. They only saw each other for a short period between dusk and dawn,” said Minami Keevin, a land vertebrate specialist with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

But ferret fans argue that the foot-long domesticated creatures make excellent pets and shouldn’t be regulated by wildlife agencies.

“Ferrets are really wonderful animals for those of us who are so inclined. They are messy, and they’re expensive, and they’re demanding, but they are full of personality, full of love and full of joy,” said Pat Wright, who lives in La Mesa, near San Diego, and has been fighting California’s ban for nearly 20 years.

Keeping a ferret as a pet takes more time, care and money than owning a dog or cat. The American Veterinary Medical Association in Schaumburg, Ill., which recently posted a YouTube video on pet ferrets, noted they need to be caged most of the time, require hours of exercise and emit a musky odor that many people find unpleasant.

Dr. Carmen Ludington, a veterinarian at Tennessee Valley Animal Clinic in Tuscumbia, said some people keep their ferrets in cages and others let them roam in the house. Ferrets can be trained to use a litter box. Most of the ferrets they see at the Tennessee Valley Animal Clinic have been trained to use a litter box.

The biggest problem with letting ferrets roam, Ludington said, is their tendency to steal things.

“They are very active animals and they like to hide things,” Ludington said. “They’ll pick out whatever their favorite thing is, whether it be shiny or whatever it is, and they’ll tend to find a favorite place in the house and that’s where they hide it. Anything that goes missing, you’ll find it there.”

Large cages are expensive, but on the other hand, ferrets don’t require as much medical or dental care as cats or dogs. Luddington said, just as with dogs and cats, ferrets require annual vaccines. Annual rabies vaccines are required by law for ferrets, cats and dogs.

“They are wonderful little clowns that not only steal your heart but they will steal anything they deem is theirs,” said AmyJo Casner, of Harrisville, Pa., who legally owns ferrets Manny, Marcuz, and Marylin. “This includes your shoes, socks, pens, pencils, hairbrushes, potatoes, car keys, wallets and clothing. I had two ferrets that tried to take my notebook computer to what is called their hidey-hole.”

Their antics are better than anti- depressants, said Casner, whose pets inspired her to start a ferret clothing line that she sells online.

“They make really good pets,” Ludington said. “Even though they are descented, they do have an odor to them and they need regular baths to keep the odor down.”

One of the drawbacks to owning a ferret versus a dog or cat, is the shorter lifespan of a ferret.

“For the average ferret, 5 years is pretty old,” Ludington said. “We will occasionally see them get to 6 or 7; 8 is very rare”

The most common problems ferrets face is a high propensity for cancer. Ludington said there are about three or four main cancers that most ferrets get, which is what usually kills most ferrets.

“Ferrets love being with their people, but they have a very short lifespans,” Ludington said.

Ferrets, while not native to North America do live in the wild in Europe, where they are different animals, Ludington said.

“The ferrets we have here were originally imported over here and every ferret in this country is related to those original ones that was brought here,” Ludington said. “And that’s probably part of the reason we see cancer so often in them. Because they are all very closely related.”

A count of ferret owners across the U.S. was unavailable, but the American Pet Products Association said in 1992, 2 percent of people who owned a small animal such as a mouse, rat, ferret, gerbil, rabbit, hamster or guinea pig said they had a ferret.

In 2000, 10 percent of small-animal owners said they had a ferret, and 7 percent in 2010 had them. That’s despite bans in the two states, plus a number of large cities including New York, and U.S. military bases.

In California, where having a ferret can net a $500 fine or six months in jail, Wright estimated between 50,000 and 500,000 pet ferrets live a clandestine existence. His guess is based on ferret-supply sales and a 5,000-member mailing list for his ferret legalization cause.

Shea, who said Fish and Game has never tried to verify those numbers, said California doesn’t have enough game wardens to chase violators, so the ban is not strictly enforced. Billboards close to the borders of Arizona and Nevada point motorists in the direction of ferret sellers. And most pet stores in California carry ferret food and supplies.

But the issue is taken seriously in Hawaii, where every report of a ferret is checked. One captured in 2012 in Hilo was turned over to the Hawaii Island Humane Society, flown to Honolulu and quarantined until it could be shipped out of state. The penalty for importing, selling or possessing a ferret in Hawaii is a fine up to $200,000 and as many as three years in jail.

Dr. Valarie Tynes, a veterinarian with the AVMA, said breeders who spay and neuter ferrets before selling them could allay states’ concerns that the animals could escape and procreate.

“I think there have been concerns by some that if ferrets got loose, they might thrive in the wild in the United States and possibly be damaging to native populations,” she said. “I think it’s interesting, as long as they’ve been pets, I’ve never heard of any place that’s happened.”

Ludington said that all ferrets purchased at a pet store come spayed or neutered.

“You can tell that because they have little tattoos in their ears,” Ludington said. “Two dots means they have been descented and spayed or neutered.”

California’s 80-year-old ban can be changed by commission vote or legislation, and there have been six attempts at a bill since 1994. A 2004 proposal came closest when it reached the desk of the governor — Arnold Schwarzenegger, who appeared with a ferret in “Kindergarten Cop.” He vetoed it.

Wright is looking for another lawmaker willing to sponsor a new round of legislation, but conceded that task alone was difficult. With legislators facing issues like the budget, gun control and health care, he noted, anyone who goes to bat for ferrets will probably be mocked.

TimesDaily staff reporter Bobby Bozeman contributed to this report.

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