Posted on 04/13/2005 4:41:18 PM PDT by Rebelbase
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A proposal to legalize the killing of feral cats is not going to succeed, Gov. Jim Doyle said Wednesday.
"I don't think Wisconsin should become known as a state where we shoot cats," said Doyle, a Democrat who neither hunts nor owns a cat. "What it does is sort of hold us up as a state that everybody is kind of laughing at right now."
He told reporters his office had received calls from around the country denouncing a proposal adopted Monday at meetings of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, a public advisory group, that would classify wild, free-roaming cats as an unprotected species that kills song birds and other wildlife.
Outdoor enthusiasts approved the proposal 6,830 to 5,201 at Monday's spring hearings of the group.
The results get forwarded to the state Natural Resources Board for consideration, but any official action would have to be passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor.
Animal rights groups belittled the idea as inhumane and dangerous.
Doyle said he respects the Conservation Congress but "on this one I think everybody recognizes it's not going anywhere."
Some experts estimate that 2 million wild cats roam Wisconsin, and the state says studies show feral cats kill 47 million to 139 million songbirds a year.
South Dakota and Minnesota both allow wild cats to be shot.
Two state senators - Scott Fitzgerald and Neil Kedzie - had promised to do everything they can to keep the plan from becoming law.
Kedzie, who chairs the Natural Resources and Transportation Committee, called the issue "a distraction from the main tasks we have at hand."
West Virginia thanks you.
(just kidding)
Oh mister, mister Dunderback
How could you be so mean...
Now all the little cats and dogs
Will nevermore be seen
They've all been ground to sausages
In your Dunderback Machine
Ohhh, mister mister Dunderback, How could you be so mean?
kitty reprieve ping
It took weeks of keeping him captive, feeding him, petting and combing him (while wearing leather gloves) before he would even make eye contact. I finally got through to him. He's my little Buddy now. I can bury my face in his belly now and he just purrs. I love that stupid frigging cat. I can't imagine people hunting down critters like Buddy and killing them. I wish more people would catch and neuter.
If any of these people have a cat, the poor thing is probably trying to escape and find a better home.
How do they propose to control the feral cat population then? Trap em, spay/neuter em, then release em? The most cost-effective solution is to let private citizens spend 2.5 cents per cat (the approximate price of a .22 bullet).
"No stance on record."
Guess he's pro-life on felines.
they kill RATS, too!
i am not really a cat lover, altho i have 2. while they do kill birds, if it weren't for cats, the evil rodent population would be much higher.
There's always Chinese restaraunts!
FMCDH(BITS)
Project Bay Cat Announces Successful Phase I Results
Foster City, CA; February 7, 2005
The City of Foster City, the Homeless Cat Network and Sequoia Audubon Society today announced the successful completion of Phase I of Project Bay Cat, a coordinated effort to humanely solve feral cat challenges along Foster City’s Bay Trail. With over 170 cats living along the popular trail in 2004, Project Bay Cat was developed to curb population growth through aggressive spay/neuter and adoption programs, as well as protect bird habitat and keep the path’s landscape debris-free.
Early Success
After quietly initiating the comprehensive program last year, Project Bay Cat has achieved a 77% spay/neuter rate for Foster City’s Bay Trail cat population. All of the altered cats were tested for disease and vaccinated, and a total of 31 kittens and friendly adult cats were rescued and adopted. The efforts not only stabilized the population, but also humanely reduced it to just over 130 cats, which represents a 20% reduction in the population. Additionally, six feeding stations designed to blend into the environment were built and placed away from bird habitats to keep cat food and debris off the Bay Trail, protect birds, and shelter the cats’ food and water from the elements.
“The City is very pleased with the collaborative nature of this project,” says Kevin Miller, Foster City’s Parks and Recreation Director. “The results we’re seeing are a product of that spirit of cooperation to make a better environment for all levee/pedway users.”
Unique Collaboration is the Reason Behind Success
Working together in a precedent-setting partnership, the Homeless Cat Network, Sequoia Audubon Society and the City of Foster City joined forces to humanely address the growth of feral cat populations common to many communities. “Our organization is very appreciative of the commitment of our partners to this project to humanely solve the problem of feline homelessness created by human neglect and irresponsibility. We are especially moved by the compassion of Foster City residents and officials and the generous spirit of Sequoia Audubon Society members who are working with us to protect all animals living on the levee,” said Tonya Light, executive director of Homeless Cat Network.
In 2004, the City of Foster City brought the groups together to define common goals, develop solutions and drive the initiative. The constructive effort, not commonly undertaken by city governments, is being heralded as a model program for others to emulate.
“We are collaborating in this project for the protection of bird habitat, a better life for the homeless cats and a more pleasant levee path for all users,” says Robin Smith, Sequoia Audubon Society’s Conservation Committee Chair. The Foster City shoreline is an integral part of the Pacific Flyway, a route for migratory birds in the spring and fall. Land birds breed in and around mitigation marshes, and California Clapper Rail, an Endangered Species, live in the marsh at the north end of the trail.
Phase II - Achieving Results through Community Involvement Recognizing that solutions to the feral cat challenge cannot be achieved without community support, Project Bay Cat is reaching out to involve the public and Bay Trail users in the efforts. Homeless Cat Network volunteers have been leading the effort to trap the cats for spay/neuter surgery, testing and vaccination, to establish official feeding sites, and to rescue, foster and find permanent homes for friendly cats and kittens. Homeless Cat Network is actively seeking additional volunteers to help Project Bay Cat continue its success. Donations to Homeless Cat Network and Sequoia Audubon Society are also being sought to help cover costs for the program.
To officially launch the initiative to the public, Project Bay Cat signs will be erected on February 10, which marks the beginning of Phase II. In addition to educating Bay Trail users of the program and asking for support, the signs ask people to refrain from feeding cats along the levee/pedway unless they are registered feeders. Most important, the signs discourage animal abandonment, which is an illegal and inhumane practice that began the Bay Trail’s homeless cat population and remains a problem today.
Oh, sure. And the cat-haters will kill pets, remove the collar, and simply say, Woops, thought it was a stray. This was a bad idea from the git-go.
Hey... p!ss on the song birds and all other wildlife. Cats shall reign supreme !!! ;-))
This was a silly law! You do not need the government to give you permission to shoot and kill a feral cat. FiFi next door will not be roaming the countryside miles away from the nearest home or farmhouse. The law was totally ridiculous in the first place. My cat is safe at home!
Doyle evidently has no knowledge of more enlightened states where they recognize the pests that predatory feral cats can be.
(Pssssst! Look at the success of the Coos River Cat Kill every year.)
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