Wis. Considers Legalizing Cat Hunting

http://apnews.myway.com ^ | Apr 12, 8:06 AM (ET) | ap

[ericthecurdog]

Oh hell...

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Is that a Ball Peen breed? Or Claw Hammer?

[ConservativeMind]

It would sure save a bunch of money not having to kill or capture them for the local shelter.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

My neighbors (2) own cats (4 total - nasty critters), and I have a cat (spayed), too. But I keep mine inside, or if I let it out it stays near me, I don't let it wander.
But the neighbors let their stupid cats wander all over and they get around my place and trash it either by crapping in the planter or garden or marking areas and leaving their stench behind.

So, I bought a black lab. I have trained her to "fetch" cats other then my own and she has done a great job. She has nailed one which I heave-ho'd back to where it came from and it has never returned. My lab can be anywhere within ear shot and if she hears me say "where's the kitty", she goes ballistic. It's the greatest thing.

[Petronski]

...pack dogs have attacked kids and adults. Shoot them and kill them also.

Tell me you mean to shoot the pack dogs, not the kids and adults.

[Petronski]

What is it?

[Skooz]

My Feline Detection and Disposal Unit, of course.

[Petronski]

But what is your Feline Detection and Disposal Unit? It's not a very good photo.

[Skooz]

LOL! It is actually a superb photo.

Look at it real hard for a minute. Maybe turn your head and look at it upside down.

[Petronski]

Forget it.

[Skooz]

Cat Hunting... Rush discussed this. He had a conniption.

What did he say?

[rampage8]

I agree with you. My husband used to trap two or three a night in our Tempe, AZ home and then we'd bring them to the pound. One day a woman knocked on our door from the local cat rescue group complaining that we're responsible for killing dozens of cats. We kindly explained that as cat owners (I have 2), it's not that we have anything against cats it's just that we didn't like our yard to be the neighborhood litter box.

We never caught one with a collar and the pound scans the cats for imbedded micro chips so that if there is an owner, they are notified. Apparently the cat rescue group would 'rescue' cats, get the micro chip put in, and then set them loose again in random neighborhoods. We had it out with the woman, and then trapped a cat later that night! :) The best solution was moving from that neighborhood though!

[Skooz]

It's a Boxer. Lying on his back. Looking at the camera.

[TexasRepublic]

You owe me a keyboard!

[TexasRepublic]

Plus there's children in the woods playing. This isn't November deer season where people are wearing hunter orange. The chances of stray bullets hitting a kid increases. And feral cats can hang around domestic structures. Bullets flying through the kitchen window isn't appealing to me.

The obvious solution to stray bullets is for hunters to use a 12-gauge shotgun -- the pellets don't travel very far.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Here she is resting after a hard days hunt! Camera angle is tilted so she looks skewed, but she's average size (70lbs) and has lost a few pounds cause she got thick around the middle (like me!)

[calex59]

As a cat pet owner I would support this with the collar restriction. But it should also be instituted for dogs.

It used to be that hunters were required to shoot any wild dogs they observed in the woods, in some states. I don't know if this is still true or not. Packs of wild dogs are a real danger to people and wildlife.

Do any FReepers know if some states still have these laws in effect?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Well, there's always a BB Gun or a Super Soaker!

[Spktyr]

(Prior post removed at my request since I mistakenly linked to the uncensored 'Jeez, not this **** again' pic, sorry)

OK, let's try this again. Cats only hang around where there is a food supply. Cats SUCK at catching birds; it is exceedingly rare that they will catch one. Cats are optimized for hunting rodents. Yes, they will rummage through dumpsters if they can't find anything else, but if there is no food in the area, they will not stay.

If you have a large feral cat population in an area, it has *always* meant that there is a large rodent population that they are suppressing. Removal of the cat colony has almost always caused the rodent population to explode. Killing cats is what let the Black Plague spread across Europe.

On that note, *people* carry more diseases than cats can. Dogs do too. Also, a cat colony has never killed a human, where stray dogs and even household pet canines routinely attack and kill people. Cats do not endanger people, dogs do. That's why dog owners should have to pay for the animal control measures (which end up being aimed at their pets). Also, the ability and nature of the cat to wander around has been documented and there is case law going back to Ye Olde Englande recognizing that.