Ferrets get no respect. We've been on ferret watch since last summer, when Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration indicated that they'd be up for nixing his predecessor Rudolph Giuliani's ban, enacted in 1999, on these little critters.

Ferret lovers rejoiced, though one famously complained to NPR"s This American Life that de Blasio's plans wouldn't be enough to dispel any bad blood between ferret-ites and the city.

All that's for naught, though. According to the Associated Press, the NYC Board of Health has downvoted attempts to make ferret pet ownership viable. "I'm greatly troubled by this," said Dr. Lynne Richardson of the Board of Health. "I have to say that, at this point, I'm not at all convinced that it wouldn't be a substantial health risk to allow ferret ownership in New York City."

Looks like co-ops won't have to debate whether to allow them as pets, after all. Ferrets had no comment.

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