Policeman Nursing Tender Injury after Ferret Attack

Source: AAP

BRISBANE - A Queensland policeman is nursing a painful injury after being bitten on the penis by a ferret during a bizarre arrest yesterday.

The ferret was being driven to a wildlife refuge by a young constable when it bit him on the genitals, police said today.

It had escaped from a cardboard box on the back seat and climbed onto the officer's lap before sinking its teeth into his groin, a police spokesman said.

The incident almost caused a traffic accident on an inner city Brisbane road as the startled officer tried to restrain the animal and pulled on the hand brake, sending the car into a spin.

He was forced to use his baton to knock the animal down after chasing it around the car, where it defecated on the seats and grew steadily more vicious.

Describing the animal as an "illegal alien", police spokesman Brian Swift said it was an unfortunate incident for the officer.

"The ferret got itself out of the box and latched itself to a place of undesirable intent on the police officer's person in the front seat," Mr Swift said.

"It caused him a certain amount of reaction and he is getting a lot of sympathy, but also a lot of ribbing from his mates at this stage."

The half-grown male ferret was confiscated from its owner in the Fortitude Valley Mall in Brisbane just minutes earlier.

The owner was charged with keeping prohibited wildlife without a permit.

Mr Swift said the ferret was being held at the National Parks and Wildlife refuge at Moggill on Brisbane's outskirts and its future rested with the state government's environment department.