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."
Shooting wild dogs is not an issue in most cases because they are viewed as a threat to people.
I have pit bulls on my street that are not friendly and the owners let them run loose. Talk about frustrating
We catch feral cats here in Montana and use them to train our lion hounds with.
I agree that all cats should be neutered and collared and should not be let outside.
But people are mad because cats kill birds??? WHen their cars are all covered in bird crap they will wonder why?
I hate birds!
Dogs can be very dangerous and I have been attacked by dogs several times in my life for no reaston other than the dog thought it was a good idea. I have yet to be viciously attacked by a cat, unless I tried to catch a wild one bare handed, this will get you a face full of claws.
Wild dogs cause as much damage, maybe more, than wild cats. They just hunt larger game I.E.: rabbits, deer, etc. and in some areas live stock.
Isn't she cute! Dreaming about kitties, no doubt!
He was very defensive about cats, being a cat owner. Bad mood altogether. It was a funny show though. Can't put it into words.
FReegards....
"I agree that all cats should be neutered and collared and should not be let outside."
You scared?
There is a boxer rescue unit near me and they always have the nicest boxers to give away. I wasnt much on them until I met a few at a training session when they brought some for obedience training. nice dogs
My cats do NOT suck at catching birds. They catch everything. Mice, rats, squirrels, moles, voles, chipmunks, bats, rabbits, birds, even crows.
Today the dead critters on my doorstep are mice.
Yesterday it was birds.
The day before that bats.
The day before that voles.
The two orange boys hunt as a team, and the tortie mama hunts alone, but is the Mighty Huntress. When they were babies she used to bring semi-dead animals into the house and release them to teach the boys to hunt.
I also have one orange girl who is indoor only, and she hunts spiders and flies and centipedes.
We've had them for five years and they've killed thousands of critters.
A .410 would be even better, fewer pellets to fly around, or a .44 mag with shot shells might work too. Actually I hate to see cats being shot. I have a huge group of black birds(starlings to some people) around here and cats do a fair job of keeping them down.
Every other day I have to wash my vehicles because of bird crap, and not just a little, but gops of it.These birds are protected by law, so I can't shoot them. Birds carry deseases and spread them around. What's so hot about birds that this guy wants to kill cats for them? I like birds and cats, but if I had to choose between being over run with cats or birds, I would choose the cats!
I have yet to see a cat climb on my car and take a dump!
You must have some very talented cats, because my cats (and those I have experience with) don't/can't catch birds except very rarely. They do a lot better with ground rodents.
That said, there's several scientific studies floating around that confirm my position - cats as a whole suck at catching birds.
Even if they didn't, by killing birds, they reduce the number of disease-carrying flying vermin that crap on my cars. (Yes, birds carry diseases transmitted through their crap).
I installed - at Mrs. Marauder's insistence - a special cat door in our back door that recognizes only him, or more specifically a magnet on his collar, and springs a little solenoid-actuated latch and lets him in.
The only problem is that he won't wear the collar, so I have to tape the little latch so he can get in and out at will. There's about $55.00 wasted, since that's the difference in cost between that and a plain one. He only comes in to eat, because he stays outside by his own choice.
Up until you said what you did in your other post about your cat getting dive-bombed by a mockingbird, I thought my cat was the only one who got his butt kicked by a bird.
Feral cats are predators!
Feral cats can decimate native bird populations.
They are quite fond of egg's, chicks, and birds too young to fly far enough to escape.
They make a huge dent in some species populations, particularly ground nesting species such as Ducks, Quail, Pheasant, Chuckar....
If the native bird species suffers a calamitous drop, the eco-nuts move in, demanding protection for the new "endangered species"!
Think what THAT does for your property values, and local control of issues.
Feral cats are to be shot on sight!
Yes, have you seen how mad cats can get! No, I hate to see cats get hit by cars. I have two and we do not let them out of the house.
I was cat sitting for a friend when his cat got attacked by a mockingbird. This cat was only let outside with supervision, and he never left the yard. This mockingbird had been harassing people in the area as well as pets; it was not defending a nest (winter, no nests around in trees or on houses), it was just attacking things for no good reason. This poor orange tabby couldn't deal with the bloody thing and was starting to not want to go outside.
The next time the little bugger decided to come down and annoy the cat, I shot it down with the garden hose. The cat took care of matters after that.
I have seen several commentaries on the TV news about this. What they don’t seem to want to put out is that the cats in question are not loving little sweet kitties, but feral cats. Wild animals.
"Yes, have you seen how mad cats can get!"
Oh yes. That's half the fun. =]
What if a hunter unknowingly trespasses on private property and kills the family cat?
If I see a free range dog. And I know the owner. And the dog poops in my yard. I scoop the poop into a bag. And take it to the owner. I ring the doorbell, point at the bag sitting on their porch. And say, "I'm returning this poop to the rightful owner." Then I remind them of the leash law. They all apologize so far!
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