The horror...
Posted on 04/12/2005 6:54:55 AM PDT by RedBloodedAmerican
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Feline lovers holding pictures of cats, clutching stuffed animals and wearing whiskers faced-off against hundreds of hunters at meetings around Wisconsin to voice their opinion on whether to legalize cat hunting.
Residents in 72 counties were asked whether free-roaming cats - including any domestic cat that isn't under the owner's direct control or any cat without a collar - should be listed as an unprotected species. If listed as so, the cats could be hunted.
The proposal was one of several dozen included in a spring vote on hunting and fishing issues held by the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. The results, only advisory, get forwarded to the state Natural Resources Board.
Statewide results were expected Tuesday.
La Crosse firefighter Mark Smith, 48, helped spearhead the cat-hunting proposal. He 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.
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.
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.
Critics of Smith's idea organized Wisconsin Cat-Action Team and developed a Web site - dontshootthecat.com. Some argue it is better to trap wild cats, spay or neuter them, before releasing them.
In Madison, about 1,200 people attended the Monday evening meeting at the Alliant Center - more than the 250 or so in a typical year, but less than the 3,000 or so who took part in a debate in 2000 over whether to allow hunters to shoot mourning doves.
One of the attendees was Katy Francis, who wore cat ears, whiskers, a cat nose and a sign that read, "Too Cute to Kill." For Francis, "The cat hunting thing brought me out because it was very extreme."
LOL, I live in Texas; it's our State Bird and I could get arrested for that.
When I was in college, we had a rogue mockingbird that was attacking people as they walked by. After about the third time, I was ready for it, and kept one eye on my shadow while I walked to class. When I saw the the bird's shadow swooping down, I whirled with my spiral notebook and bopped it, but not hard enough to hurt it. It fell to the ground, but took off quickly. It didn't bother me any more after that.
"The number of Moo Shoo pork specials at local chinese resturaunts has skyrocketed"
That's no joke. In my town dogs were disappearing and social workers found out that the Cambodians that the gubmint had generously imported into our public housing were eating them. Our health department caught a chinese restaurant cooking dogs or rather, they found the skins in the garbage. Enterprising people.
That kind of negligence and Muslim extremists are the reasons I keep a sawed-off 12-gauge (with buckshot) in my truck.
I once had a yellow tom, who was indisputably the baddest cat in the 'hood. He even went after dogs, and whipped many of them. He caught every kind of vermin, too, and brought them for my approval.
"Negative, it is a meat popsicle."
From the looks of your profile, you feel about Oregon pretty much the way I feel about Florida.
Mockingbirds can turn bad. You did the right thing!
Didn't know it was illegal to hunt cats - anywhere.
Hunters aren't going to win this one.
The two largest anti-hunting groups joined forces last year, with a budget of $100 million, to challenge hunters and their activities in court and create wedge issues in individual states to end hunting in America.
(Check with the US Sportsmen's Alliance for details.)
The Humane Society of the United States is laughing its head off because this issue will recruit thousands of new anti-hunters in Wisconsin, while hunters are portrayed as goons killing kittens. Can hunters win support and sympathy with that picture on the six o’clock news? The propaganda press and HSUS will massacre hunters in the press.
This is an agitprop operation by the anti-hunters at HSUS to get property owners and hunters at each other’s throats. Property owners are not going to swing open their gates so hunters can hunt cats
The feral cat issue should have been handed to trappers, not hunters.
(See Jeff Crane, policy director of the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, for more info on the anti-hunters and their tactics.)
Can I shoot all the stray dogs that run through my yard every morning? I hope so, because I already do.
"I don't support the idea of a hunting license for cats"
Nice tagline. : )
Oh, RBA, she's beautiful!! Looks a lot like the one I used to have. Makes me wish I had another...
That dog is so smart, it's scary. I need to spend more time doing obedience training with her and teach her some tricks using clickers or something.
Barry was right, we shoulda listened to him.
A lady at church was giving away a 3 yr old black lab this past Sunday, I would loved to have taken her in but couldn't. :(
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