Posted on 04/12/2005 11:34:55 PM PDT by flashbunny
Wisconsinites have spoken - at least those who showed up at Conservation Congress meetings - and it's bad news for feral cats.
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 Cat Hunting |
| What's Next |
 The Conservation Congress will vote next month on whether to recommend the proposal to the Natural Resources Board.
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| Related Coverage |
 Video: TMJ4 Coverage
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| Recent Coverage |
 3/11/05: Both sides bare claws in debate over shooting feral cats 3/10/05: Cat-hunt plan has promoter in cross hairs |
Vote results released Tuesday show the idea of allowing anyone to kill cats that are not under the control of an owner or who aren't wearing collars passed 6,830 to 5,201 at Conservation Congress meetings held Monday in every Wisconsin county.
Though residents voted in favor of listing feral felines as an unprotected species, cats won't find themselves in cross hairs anytime soon.
Now it's up to the Conservation Congress, a five-person advisory group to the Department of Natural Resources, to vote and possibly pass along to the DNR its recommendation on what to do with feral cats.
Any changes in animal-cruelty laws, however, would require action by the Legislature. That means it won't be open season on kitties, at least not yet.
"OK, we're not talking about shooting cats," said Steve Oestreicher, Wisconsin Conservation Congress chairman. "We're talking about whether they should be classified as an unprotected species."
The Conservation Congress will meet next month to discuss whether it will support the statewide vote. That's likely, Oestreicher said, since the question passed in 51 of 72 counties. It would then be taken up by the Natural Resources Board in May.
Pro-cat groups were disappointed.
"It's appalling news," said Jessica Frohman, of Alley Cat Allies, a Bethesda, Md., clearinghouse for information on feral and stray cats.
"It shows there's a clear need for education in Wisconsin and beyond about what feral cats are and how they behave and how the (cat) population needs to be controlled in humane ways. In one sense, it's a very large vote on ignorance. But in another sense, there was a large margin of people who voted to protect the cats," Frohman said.
Ted O'Donnell, who started dontshootthecat.com in response to the cat-hunting proposal, said he wished the idea had been voted down, but he was heartened by the turnout. He attended the meeting in Dane County where about 1,200 people showed up, including cat people clutching stuffed animals, wearing cat ears and whiskers and holding pictures of felines.
O'Donnell noted the vote margin was much closer for cats than mourning doves. In 1999, tens of thousands of residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of a mourning dove hunt.
"We perceived this as a back-door attack on our animal-cruelty laws. My lack of surprise comes from my understanding of the body," said O'Donnell, who owns Mad Cat Pet Supplies in Madison. "The history is whenever the Conservation Congress wants to shoot something they get it - and this is no exception."
The idea was proposed by Mark Smith, a La Crosse firefighter who wants the state to reclassify stray and feral cats as an unprotected species, arguing that they're no different from invasive species. After news of the proposal hit local and national media, Smith was the target of death threats.
Smith, whose answering machine message said he would not talk about the feral cat proposal, did not return a phone message Tuesday night.
In support of his proposal, Smith cited research by a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor that showed feral cats kill millions of songbirds as well as native species such as pheasants and grouse every year in the state.
Despite the yes vote, the Legislature would have the ultimate authority to change animal-cruelty laws.
"If it ever got that far (lawmakers) would have to declare the animal a nuisance. That will probably not happen," said Oestreicher.
"The thing here is, hopefully we've gotten the attention of the irresponsible pet owners, not just here in Wisconsin but other states, that once you tire of that animal, just don't take it out to the woods and drop it off."
Attendance at the Conservation Congress hearings was 13,281, more than twice the number that showed up last year. The meetings are always held on the second Monday in April. The 20-year average is about 7,000, though more than 30,000 attended in 1999, the year of the mourning dove hunt vote.
Giving the cats "the shot" instead of shooting them, works just fine.
Great, so people will be shooting cats in the middle of the city -- and they will be aiming at cats and probably hitting kids.
One would think there are more pressing problems, then killing some poor cats, who aren't hurting anyone.
"The wrong person's cat"
You can sophize all you want. But you are going to lose and lose big.
Sorry, that was sarcasm. Based on the comments in the article and all the comments by the cat fanatics here at free republic.
Any time you attempt to put forward a solution that deals with the problem (feral cats, not house cats, that destroy an ecosystem they shouldn't be in) - the people that dare suggest pest control are labeled as psychos and murderers and whatever. Nary a mention is made of the irresponsible pet owners who either abandon their unwanted pets or have their 'outside cat' get outside their property and then go feral.
"You can sophize all you want. But you are going to lose and lose big"
Exactly how am I going to lose and lose big? In what way?
First you have to catch them. And then you have to give them 'the shot' - by which I assume you mean killing them in a 'humane' way.
Guess what - someone has to pay. If a farm owner in rural wisconsin catches a cat going after his chickens, he has the right to take care of the problem with a .22 lr - instead of having to call animal control and getting a bill for it.
Doesn't matter what, you have to bury carcasses, whether you kill them or they kill each other. Some get rather testy when there is strange new p*ssy (cat) in the area. Nobody wants to shoot poor cuddly Tabby-girl.
Nam Vet
Good question. People who ABANDON their pets are the ones at fault. This is like killing an ophan because he/she was abandoned by their parents.
Most cities don't allow the discharge of firearms within their limits for any reason, including selfdefense. Yes, there are more pressing problems, but that doesn't mean ignore the rest.
I had a chicken escape its farm to get into my garage. It would have been fair game for my cat.
Well guess what? You're wrong. The cat fanatic lobby showed up in droves and they still lost. And all this would do would bring wisconsin in line with the vast majority of states that recognize feral cats as a problem.
You are wrong. But don't let that stop you.
Yep.
Oh wait, shouldn't you be put in jail for that?
That's what you're suggesting.
They haven't stopped showing up, and wait until the caticide begins and they get on the teevee (and they WILL).
It's just naychur.
Yeah, but the thought that originally popped into mind was even more disturbing: little kitties in orange jumpsuits picking up trash along the highway. lol
I agree with you. One of my dogs was shot by a neighbor for just barking a few years back. The dog survived but had a bad leg afterward. The neighbor stood down after realizing that I had guns as well.
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