I'd like to toss some angry kitties at these people
BoingBoing's David Pescovitz points out a disturbing law being proposed in Wisconsin:Should people in Wisconsin be permitted to hunt down and kill free-roaming cats? Residents of the state are voting on that very scary question. The advisory results will then go to Wisconsin's Natural Resources Board. From the Associated Press:
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....
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.
26 Comments:
Wisconsin is a great state, and they do some interesting things. But this just takes the cake. What the HELL?
I read where this guy was receiving death threats at his home over his rather masochistic ideals on Ferrell cats. I am a cat lover and I absolutely despise birds other than dead ones cooked up in a divine manner and used for satisfying my finicky palette, so obviously I vote a resounding "NO WAY, you sick Bastard" to this proposed law.
Here's an update:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002240190_webcathunting13.html
I think it's just disturbing that people would want to shoot cats just for sheer pleasure. It is a state matter but I'm not for it. Down with the kitty-killers.
I love Cats and I love Dogs. I have each in my family. I would find it odd that a species that clings to me for support and offers unconditional love would find itself subject to such shear brutality. However to have an actual law excusing this is a totally different animal. I love 'em and most of you have been loved by 'em either cat or dog. It's like euthenasia, it's wrong and yet some places say it's perfectly legit. I disagree, and this is my right as an American. However voicing my opinion may not make a microscopic bit of difference, except to me the Cat and Dog lover!
Get your very own Wisconsin cat hunting (or anti-cat hunting) T-shirt!
www.catstamp2005.com
www.nocatstamp2005.com
I find it absolutely outrageous that in this day and age people can not find a better way of dealing with problems, other than with a gun. Maybe if people would be responsible pet owners and spay and neuter their pets we would not have this problem. God put these beautiful creatures on earth to be companions to us, and now Wisconsin wants to gun them down. Why don't some of the veternarians in Wisconsin get together and start a trap spay/neuter program, this has been done in other areas and has proven successful. I share my home with two gorgeous and loving cats and a loving dog, I do not let them roam freely outside. The problem here is not the cats, but the humans who have abused them and not been responsible. If the people of Wisconsin pass this law it would be unforgiveable.
the last person to post is an absolute moron, they should stop crying. It's not pets that are owned by people that will get shot, it is wild, vicious killers that will never let any human touch them without fighting and possibly passing diseases to people or domesticated animals. People don't abuse these animals, we have to sit idley by while these animals that were born in some forest come and eat our state and songbirds, and now we'll be able to do something about it. Stop crying baby, have a piece of cheese.
A Ferrel cat is not a pet, they are wild animals just like a raccoon or a deer. I have a cat too, and people are not going to be shooting at peoples pets. There are idiots that think that people are going to shoot poor little helpless kittins. WRONG!
THINK WILD ANIMIALS
A little of the topic but maybe someone could help me. my outside cat trixie who lives on teh porch and never strays had 8 week old kittens taht are eating cat food and still nursing. Well trixie has gone missing for about 5 days. she never goes to the road plus its a long walk to get there and she is usually right there when you call or open the door. this is her first litter of kittens...could she be off somewhere letting her milk dry up so the kittens will quit nursing?
>>I have a cat too, and people are not going to be shooting at peoples pets.
It's way past due, but I don't care....
Smith wanted to shoot ANY cat without a collar. ANY CAT WITHOUT A COLLAR. Get that, mr. anonymus moron? Remember, most cat owners DO NOT put collars on their cats because if said animal gets out, it could get hung on a tree branch, choke and die. Now most cat owners get their cats microchipped, WHICH YOU CANNOT SEE.
Let's let that sink in for a moment.
Okay, suppose your microchipped cat had accidentally slipped out of your house and wasn't wearing a collar. Suppose this law had passed. (It didn't because Gov. Doyle has an honest-to-God functioning brain.)
Get it now, mr. anonymous moron, or do I have to spell it out for you? I'll do it just in case you really are that frigging stupid: yes, your sweet little kitty could have very well gotten a bullet through the brain.
That's why this law should never have even been considered.
I swear, there are dead felines smarter than some humans on this mudball of a planet.....
There are 2 very important sides:
1. The endangerment of the songbirds, species we could lose and must protect.
2. Cats. Our society respects cats as pets and is not comfortable with the hunting of domestic cats. In edition, there are many outdoor pet cats that would seem wild to a stranger.
3. Hunters. Hunters are an important balance in our out of wack ecosystem. Hunter have a responsiably to maintain a higher moral standard in choosing their prey. State, such as Ohio, must rely on Hunters to protect foliage, other species, and people (drivers) from the overpopulation of deer. Most importantly, they must protect the deer themselves from the disease and starvation that comes with over population. All of the hunters I know take this responsiablity very seriously and have a deep respect for nature and life.
My opinion: Since many ferrel cats can be tamed, the species should be considered a protected species. My cat is ferrel and we are taming her. Protective homes and feeding stations should be set up for the song birds to encourage their survival. Only in very serious situations, should a clearly idenitified ferrel colony be euthanized. (And, disease caused by overpopulation could be that serious, so this idea of hunting cats could be stepped up.)
i beilive that you should be able to shoot them. they kill more than song birds, the kill game birds. im a sportsman and i would like to hunt birds the rest of my life but that aint goin to happen cause the stupid cats kill them. so if i c one im killin it
You have got to be kidding me!!!! All these bleeding hearts stating that you shouldn't get rid of Ferrell cats???? Do you have any idea what they do to an eco-system??? I thought not!
Ferrell cats exist simply beacuse CAT OWNERS think that house PETS belong out doors! Cats DO NOT belong anywhere near the outside. They have litter pans IN YOUR HOME and food and attention. House cats that are let out are the ones who create Ferrell cats and start the problem in a community.
It seems to me that the laws governing Dogs and Cats are very unbalanced indeed! I have to keep my dog on a leash in public. I can't let my dog rome the neighborhood. Now please tell me why there are no laws forcing Cat owners to keep their pets indoors when ALL they do is kill small animals such as Squirrels and Birds?
Squirrels...Birds...Chipmunks...Rabbits ARE wild animals. Cats ARE NOT!!!!!!!! House cats that are let out ARE THE PROBLEM!!!! They breed with other house cats that are let out and raise the litter outdoors. those that survive become FERRELL cats. Because the parents do not bring them indorrs.
Ferrell cats (again created by you ignorrant cat owners) Destroy more backyard wildlife then any other threat in the country.
You want to solve the problem??? Educate yourself,get your cat "fixed" and above all else KEEP THE FRIGGIN THING INDOORS!!
Hey I am a all around animal lover. I have indoor cats,dogs,and birds. I also have ferrell cats that I feed along with the wonderful wild birds. You can have all the wildlife living in your yard quite easily if you want. So killing any animal that is not for food should not ever be put into law. O by the way I also tame ferrell animals so people it can be done!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I live in Texas, here everyone has a gun and i think that people should be able to kill ferrell cats. At my ranch we have no squirrels rabbits or birds because they are eating them all. All the natural predators are gone because theres no prey for them. These are not pets they carry diseases and travel in packs. My 22 magnum is the only thing stopping them from getting in our ranch.
um.....i think that these ugly,scragely cats are not cool, they are bad cuz they eat like garbage and one killed my cat one time..... killem all
You take your animals to the vet and they love your pet for hundreds of dollars. Let them help! Let the state put in some bucks, and take care of the problem of nutering or spaying. Then nature will take its course. I am in TN where I am trying to catch a TOM, and the mother of 2 6 month old kittens. Cats are good hunters and we need them but it can get out of hand. There are 2 families here that are going to share the price of "fixing them" Do you think the vet would give us a break....none of them would!One said that she could not afford it. Give me a break! We all know that isn't true. I could do my part to capture more and take them to get "fixed" if the state would provide some assitance to these poor starving vets. If they can't breed it would cut the poulation way down. A bullet is 10 cents, thats why you won't get the state to help.
I will never, for the life of me, understand the desire to kill animals or any living thing just for sport or convenience. It seems to me very heartless and cruel. If we all just did whatever we wanted because it suited us, or because it was convenient, no matter the consequences to another living being, it would be a pretty scary world.
I love cats, they taste a lot like chicken.
Let me get this straight, Ferrel cats are roaming wild killing and eating protected birds conveying disease and they should not be kept in check with guns. Is it OK to run em over with cars poison them or some other way to control their population? Some poster here does not want to put a collar on them and let them run wild. I have two cats both of them have been spayed and have collars. I dont let them roam in the woods. I dont have any problem with culling the wild cats with guns traps or poison. I think guns are more humane than any other way to kill them.
I work at an animal hospital, and I believe this is very wrong, yet from working there I also know that spaying and neutering cats for free just isn't all that easy. They would have to find a new building, find time away from their work, spend their own money on spaying and nuetering the cat, and then have a place for all of them to go after the surgery while they get well enough to go back out into the wild. At my work we do take in wild animals and work on them when people bring them in, but for them to volumteer away from their normal customers work on the cats in to wild would take alot. It would be a good idea to make a group of people who could foster the cats until they are better. But the vets alone could not do this. Over all, no matter how many cats there are in wisconsin they don't deserve to be shot. No animal does, unless it is for survival like food. No one is going to eat these cats ( if you are then that is really gross...)
I live in VA and wish he could come shoot a few for me! I'm overrun with ferrel cats and they are endangering my children and small dog. Wild dogs wouldn't be allowed to run loose! The animal control people won't do anything to help me. Personally, I think it's a great idea.
THEY ARE ANIMALS LIKE ANYTHING ELSE. Some people Make me SICK to my stomach. They have feelings, and they have lives, just like humans do, And good job to you sick old bastards who get satisfaction out of killing innocent animals for fun. Watch your self
I'm not going to say yeah or nay to this proposal (that will straighten itself out), I will say that I have 3 ferrel cats that were 1 trapped under a tip trap that I set up and got the first one 2 and 3 where enticed in the back door slowly till they came in and actually ate from our fingers, became used to being pet and the door being closed when they were distracted.
I have the mother and two daughters from different litters one year apart. They purr and drool (I thought they were sick or something until I searched the net and found it's a sign of contentment)and run for high heaven (or a very good hidding place) whenever a door is opened. The last place they want to go is back outside.
I wouldn't trade them for the world.
As for the topic at hand: If it's the law (goofy or not) it's the law. If pet owners are stupid enough to let their cats get out without a collar well, the shooter can't tell can they?
Just my 2 cents.
Cat Lover (I used to hate cats)
I hunt them...
Why? Because they are wild and disease ridden, they come into my house mark the area with sent and kill my children's pets (cats included). I do not take any pleasure in it nor do I do it for fun! It is purely to control the numbers and protect my children and their pets.
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