The mayor of Cedar Falls has convened a task force after a pet ferret was released into the wild, according to KWWL. Cedar Falls formerly had an animal control contract with Waterloo but decided not to renew that contract last year, instead opting to handle animal control in house. Last week a Cedar Falls officer responded to a call of a ferret underneath a porch. The officer was able to capture the ferret. They then asked their superior what to do with the animal and was advised to release it into the wild. The ferret ended up being an escaped pet named Karma and belonging to Heaven Lickness. Lickness says she has been crying everyday since Karma broke through a barrier in the home and escaped. Mayor Danny Laudick says the police were confused as to if a ferret would be considered a wild animal or a domestic animal and, in his words, they screwed up. Laudick has now put together a task force of council members, public safety members, and representatives from the Cedar Bend Humane Society to determine if the city should continue to keep animal control in house and provide more training or contract it out to a separate entity.
