Rut-roh!Pingin' da kitties. :)
Posted on 04/02/2005 12:24:27 PM PST by SmithL
WAUSAU, Wis. - Wild cats prowl around the bird feeder outside Mark Smith's home, waiting to pounce on a wren or maybe a robin. About all Smith can do right now is watch. But if the La Crosse firefighter has his way, there will soon come a day when he can open his door, take aim and fire - and not worry about being prosecuted.
Smith, 48, wants Wisconsin to declare free-roaming wild cats an unprotected species, just like skunks or gophers. Anyone with a small-game license could shoot the cats at will, legally.
His proposal gets tested April 11 at the Wisconsin Conservation Congress spring hearings, where outdoor enthusiasts gather in every county to vote on hunting and fishing issues. The citizens' advisory group then will forward the election results to the state Natural Resources Board. The Legislature would have to change the law, though, for Smith's plan to be implemented.
At least two other upper Midwestern states, South Dakota and Minnesota, allow wild cats to be shot - and have for decades. Minnesota defines a wild, or feral, cat as one with no collar that does not show friendly behavior, said Kevin Kyle with that state's Department of Natural Resources.
"People out in the country with problems with them take care of the problem," Kyle said.
Every year in Wisconsin alone, an estimated 2 million wild cats kill 47 million to 139 million songbirds, according to state officials. Despite the astounding numbers, Smith's plan has been met with fierce opposition from cat lovers.
"I personally picked up the phone at work on four threat calls," Smith recalled about the first days after his idea hit the news.
While Smith expected criticism, he didn't expect venom spewed his way for what he considers a reasonable solution to an environmental problem created by irresponsible pet owners. People who get tired of their cats shouldn't be setting them loose in the country, he said.
"Maybe I am emotionally inept, but I don't understand the reaction these people are having," he said. "I guess they need to be put in a room with a bunch of these cats."
The Humane Society of the United States called Smith's plan cruel and archaic.
Humane societies nationwide euthanize 3 million to 4 million cats and dogs each year because they have been abandoned and no one wants them, said Stephanie Shain, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society in Washington, D.C.
But there is a difference between killing animals with an injection and letting them die painlessly, and shooting them, Shain argued.
Other critics have organized the Wisconsin Cat-Action Team and are mobilizing cat lovers to attend the hearings later this month.
"You don't take on cats. It is one of the most popular companion animals in the world," said Ted O'Donnell of Madison, founder of Cat-Action and owner of five rescued cats. "Why would you propose an idea that would treat that relationship so callously?"
O'Donnell's plan is to trap wild cats, spay or neuter them, then release them. Their numbers decrease over time because they're not reproducing so rapidly, he said.
Smith, who grew up with Fluffy the cat and now has three dogs, counters with his original points: He doesn't want an open season on all cats and legitimate pets won't be in jeopardy if their owners are responsible.
"What is so terrible about putting a collar on a cat to identify it as yours?" he asked. "Are you ashamed of the fact that you are a cat owner? How hard is that?"
Here, kitty, kitty.
What about the killing of domestic cats?
Like a neighbors that always roams the neighborhood and yells at night about being neutered.
Could have used them when I lived on Capitol Hill too, would've done wonders to get rid of the rats there as well...especially the furry kind.
How about wasting feral humans that hang around homes waiting to ponce on owners?
Many owners of domestic cats have no idea how far their cats roam or what they kill while trespassing.
yep, watch out.
This story has been posted several times, and usually brings out the rabid cat-fanatic freepers who suggest the person proposing this law be shot instead.
Nothing insane in that position. Perfectly natural to equate shooting a feral animal that doesn't belong in an environment to killing another human being. They aren't whackjobs at all!
I went to Hawaii on vacation. While out on an early morning run past Kapiolani Park up Diamond Head Rd to the lighthouse point overlook I stopped to enjoy the view before turning back. Down along the hillside was about 100 feral cats living on what must be the most expensive real estate to be found.
The cats should be captured spade or neutered and then released. Shooting them seems a little drastic.
I have 2 cats, no collars.
I have been thinking about calling the animal catchers because of feral cats coming on to my property. They have been around since before me but, recently a rare bird mating pair has moved into my vine covered backyard. From observation I have noticed that they do spend some time on the ground
and therefore are very likely to become food for these skilled hunters.
My county puts feral cats to sleep by the thousands so I am torn.
Cats are a big part of why many native hawaiian bird species went extinct...
They are vermin and should be treated as such.
Yes, I am a cat owner but mine stays indoors where he belongs. People who let their cats run wild are irresponsible.
L
Why the heck not? Wouldn't you want someone to be able to call you if the cat got hurt?
Feral cats are unbelievably destructive to wildlife.
They are vermin and should be treated as such.
Yes, I am a cat owner but mine stays indoors where he belongs. People who let their cats run wild are irresponsible.
No need to use firearms. A live trap and a vacumn cleaner hose connected to the proper mode of transportation dispatches them quite noiselessly. If you want your cat to come home, keep it home.
Paid for by whom? My tax dollars already get flushed down the toilet funding health care and welfare for illegal aliens. If you think I'm going to pay for little kitty vasectomies, you're crazy.
Sounds like a rather rather draconian measure to me-why not jack up the fines to owners of cats for letting them run loose first, especially the so-called cat "collectors"-that is how the feral cat problem gets started in the first place.
The trap-neuter-release of feral cats has been very successful in the rural area where we live-in the three years the program has been in use, the feral cat population is down to almost nothing in our community. "Collectors" of pet cats that run amok are still a problem, but since pet owners get fined $500.00 for unconfined animals, be they dog or cat, that problem is lessening as well-most collectors will surrender the animals to the shelter for adoption rather than have to pay fines in the thousands of dollars.
We adopted our Kitty boy from the shelter, as we did the cat before him (who lived to be nearly 20). He promptly eliminated a couple of mice that had been having a good time in the house since the death of his predecessor. We haven't seen evidence of a mouse even in the garage since we have a cat again, even though I keep bird and deer feed in there. You must sign an agreement to keep your cat inside the home unless leashed to adopt a cat here, and one that says you will keep your dog indoors, in a fenced yard or on a leash to adopt a dog. There are some large, bold and vicious raccoons out here that will attack dogs in yards, but we do shoot those...
I had a cat once that got stuck in a tree by his flea collar.
Collars on dogs yes, cats no, just for that reason.
The county animal welfare society where I live is funded entirely by donations and the money people pay to adopt a pet from them, as are those of all the small towns out here. The animals are fostered by volunteers in their homes until they are adopted-one of my neighbors fosters 4 dogs and 10 cats at a time. As far as I know, only major cities fund animal shelters with tax dollars-another damn good reason not to live in a major city-they seldom even enforce their loose pet fines.
Rut-roh!Pingin' da kitties. :)
There are some large, bold and vicious raccoons out here that will attack dogs in yards, but we do shoot those...
Wrong, I can and do. Without hesitation. (resident semi-rural).
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