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.
"So why punish the poor cats for having bad owners?"
Why punish murderers who had bad parents?
Your post isn't a solution to a problem. That's just it - there IS a problem. Something has to be done about it. Allowing land owners to shoot feral animals is the way it is handled in the majority of states. It is a common sense solution to a problem that causes havoc with the ecosystem AND spreads disease.
It's not a platitude or a warm and fuzzy thought. It's a solution. One that works.
You dont have to, take them to PAWS or another no-kill animal shelter. Its what I do. Its free and the animal gets another chance at life.
I turn them loose in rich liberal neighborhoods. lol
Irrational? We are just stating that we will defend our pets at all costs and by all means.
Meow!
Nam Vet
"Why punish murderers who had bad parents? "
How many cats have you seen who go around murdering people?
"It is a common sense solution to a problem that causes havoc with the ecosystem AND spreads disease. "
I bet people cause more problem to the ecosystem and spread more disease than the cats. Are you in favor of killing all people too, to keep the ecosystem pristine?
The cats do not cause any problems, some people just hate cats.
You will take my kitty when you pry it from my cold dead hands. lol
Not only that, the "diseases" mentioned can be prevented the same way that prevents other common germs and diseased. By washing your hands.
Got any good recipes? I tried smoking one once, but couldn't get it to stay lit and it was kind of hard to draw.
This isn't about pets! How many times do I have and everyone else have to state it!
No matter how many times people say this isn't about their pets but FERAL cats that live in the wild, people still think it's about their damn cats! IT ISN'T! For pete's sake, act like you're real conservatives and use your brains, not your emotions! THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR FREAKING PETS!!!!
I've owned plenty of cats. I just didn't let them roam the neighborhood and make a nuisance of themselves. Love your kitty all you want, just keep it off MY property. By the way I won't need to shot it except to put it out of it's misery when my German Shepard gets ahold of it....
Exactly. Would love to see these 'cat lovers' go out and try to pick up a barn cat.
ALF ? Is that you Buddy ?
Nam Vet
Yes it does. Whats to stop some person from shooting an animal (regardless wether its abandoned or not) just out of F*CKING ANNOYANCE. Happened to me.
"I VOULENTEER AT A NONPROFIT ANIMAL SHELTER YOU IDIOT"
Hey, thanks for the personal attacks. Again, whenver cats are invovled, cat loving freepers go out of their way to act better to cats than they do to people.
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