NationStates Jolt Archive

its been all over the news...

wisconsin is thinking if having an open season on feral housecats. uncollared cats that arent being cared for by anyone would be legal to kill.

what do you think?

I think it's a bad move, simply because some people have indoor-outdoor cats, and the likelyhood that they may be accidentally shot is fairly high. Suppose you have a long-haired cat, like a Persian, and its collar isn't readily visible?

If the stray cat population is really that much of a problem, how about just giving some people an incentive to collect them and turn them in to their local Human Society or animal shelter? They'll likely be put down once received anyway, but it saves some poor pet owner from having to find little Fluffy with a slug in him.

it would give the owner an incentive to keep fluffy in their own yards.

i do wonder what the rules would be on shooting cats in your own yard. most hunting is not allowed within a certain distance to houses. but "varmints" might be a different rule.

it would give the owner an incentive to keep fluffy in their own yards.

Cats aren't like dogs.

it would give the owner an incentive to keep fluffy in their own yards.

A naive notion that only a non-cat owner would have. You have obviously never tried to get a cat to do anything it doesn't want to do. But yes, I see your point. Still, supposing someone lives in a rural area and keeps cats on the premises to keep the vermin population down around their yard and barn. You certainly don't want some avid "cathunter" popping them.

i do wonder what the rules would be on shooting cats in your own yard. most hunting is not allowed within a certain distance to houses. but "varmints" might be a different rule.

This is another reason why I think it's a bad idea. Most of there feral cat problem is likely contained in urban areas and stemming from abandoned pets. It's hard enough to regulate hunting in wilderness/rural areas, can you imagine trying to zone hunting within city limits?

I personally think it is a great idea.

*baits bear trap with meow mix*

its been all over the news...

wisconsin is thinking if having an open season on feral housecats. uncollared cats that arent being cared for by anyone would be legal to kill.

what do you think?

I like the idea. But there is too much room for abuse.
Someone could kill your cat then take off it's collar and claim it never had one on. :mp5:
For that reason I would have to be against it. If someone could find away to prevent that situation then I would be all for it.

In principle, I have nothing against killing cats. But since cats are often pets, the possibility of pets getting killed is rather high. And it's not like you can sue the guy for shooting your cat, if he accidentally killed your cat, he'd quickly take the collar off once he realized his mistake.

i have a cat, i keep her in the house. sure she would love to go out but her hunting skills would devastate the local wildlife.

which is the problem with feral cats, they eat every little critter in the area. and they breed very fast.

allowing shooting in suburban neighborhoods is a bad idea but letting feral cats run wild is a bad idea too

Someone apparently brought up the idea of allowing people to trap feral cats and bring them in for free spaying/neutering before re-releasing them. It would certainly start to cut down on the number of feral cats, although it wouldn't really be cost-effective.

I also read that some state has a rule that you can kill a cat if it doesn't have a collar and isn't acting friendly. Seriously though, how many cats act all that friendly towards anyone but their owners?

its been all over the news...

wisconsin is thinking if having an open season on feral housecats. uncollared cats that arent being cared for by anyone would be legal to kill.

what do you think?

I think this is the greatest thing since bread was invented.

I HATE CATS.

Hell, package the meat up and send it to Asia they'll probably love us for it.

I'm glad it's not being passed and that Ashmoria managed to find some NSers who are sympathetic to the issue aster I failed. :)

Besides, if you can't shoot a gun within city limits, the bill won't accomplish anything. Farmers and rednecks already shoot unwanted cats. Did you see some of the footage they showed? Of course, you're going to find a ton of ferals on a farm. :rolleyes:

Here's a question for people. If cats kill so many bunnies and songbirds, then when was the last time you have seen a stray cat? I've seen some bunnies and some songbirds, but I haven't seen a stray cat in months. Perhaps if people would spay and neuter their cats and the government would put tighter regulations on breeders, there wouldn't be such a problem. 1 in every 4 cats that enter a humane society was surrendered by a breeder. There's no excuses for people to not have their animals spayed and neutered. There are programs that can give you financial aid. My mother didn't pay for any of our cats to get fixed.

I prefer squirrel tag actually.

In Australia a Liberal (right wing, conservative party) has told people to go and kill cane toads with cricket bats and golf clubs. Personally I agree with him, they are a foreign pest that kills a good deal of native wildlife. I would probably go even further and offer a bounty of $5 for every bucket of toads bought in. It would probably be more effective than this new poision they're spending millions on...

I live in Minnesota where it's been legal "for decades", according to the newspaper articles, to kill feral cats. I don't know of anyone who has actually shot any. In rural areas I have no doubt people shoot stray cats, but it's not like the gang loads up in the pickup and goes on a cat hunting spree.

Feral cats are a problem caused by human carelessness and irresponsibility. We've created a situation where we have less than attractive alternatives to solving it. We can only delay, not deny facing the fact that unchecked feral cat populations wreak havoc on wildlife, and eventually their numbers will have to be reduced.

By the way, I'm a cat owner.

I think this is the greatest thing since bread was invented.

I HATE CATS.

Hell, package the meat up and send it to Asia they'll probably love us for it.


How could anyone hate a cat? All you have to do is respect them and realize how incredibly superior they are to dogs (Cats choose to love you, dogs are just agreeable). And stay away from the soft underbelly. That's it. They give unobtrusive love, they don't shit everywhere, and if you are actually a cool person any cat will love you. They smell better than dogs, are smarter, bring you meaningful presents (dead birds and things), are more fun to mess with, and, yeah.

Well, count Wisconsin out as a possible state for me to move to. I am completely against this. There are far better things we can do about this, such as strengthen the Humane Socety. These cats could be adopted; even cats with some deformities (such as being one-eyed) are adopted (I tried to adopt a one-eyed cat over the winter, but he was gone before I got my apartment. I hope whoever adopted him called hm Lucky, like I was going to.) That said, I don't much care for hunting and don't really think it's our place to kill animals except for food and resources. And really, klling just to control the population is a dumb reason to kill. Let nature take its course.

Noooooo... not the kitties!

Sixteen responses. Not one has made a reference to "pussy hunting". I am sorely disappointed in this forum. You guys need to start thinking inside the box.

I do feline rescue, and have for years.

Spay and release of ferals is not that expensive. If vetrinarians donate time, and manufacturers donate the minor ( per cat ) amount of surgical supplies and such it can be done so very cheaply ( I've also been a surgical vetrinary tech so I know whats used and how much )

and feral cats do NOT decimate birds as many claim. The hunting skill for birding is a specialized one and most ferals never pick it up. They eat human food discards, mice, rats, voles and other small rodents.

I've fostered / deferalized/ hand raised I'd guess over 800 cats over the years and of those only one has had the birding skill - now most would play with & eat a dead bird if they came across it, but actual catching of birds - not common

How could anyone hate a cat? All you have to do is respect them and realize how incredibly superior they are to dogs (Cats choose to love you, dogs are just agreeable). And stay away from the soft underbelly. That's it. They give unobtrusive love, they don't shit everywhere, and if you are actually a cool person any cat will love you. They smell better than dogs, are smarter, bring you meaningful presents (dead birds and things)...

quite agreed

How could anyone hate a cat? All you have to do is respect them and realize how incredibly superior they are to dogs (Cats choose to love you, dogs are just agreeable). And stay away from the soft underbelly. That's it. They give unobtrusive love, they don't shit everywhere, and if you are actually a cool person any cat will love you. They smell better than dogs, are smarter, bring you meaningful presents (dead birds and things), are more fun to mess with, and, yeah.

Second that.

I posted this in a different thread discussing this same topic, but I figured I'd paste it again in here rather than bump the old thread...

...It's an article from alocal paper regarding the issue.

I have bolded particular parts for emphasis.


From The Post Crescent (Appleton, WI - 4/13/05)

Stray-cat shootings find support

Wisconsin residents voted in favor of listing feral cats as an unprotected species Monday, but it is unlikely Wisconsin landowners will ever be given the authority to shoot them.

Despite passionate opposition from cat lovers, state residents attending the annual spring fish and game rules hearings and associated Conservation Congress county meetings voted in favor of Question 62 by a vote of 6,830 to 5,201.

The state Department of Natural Resources reported Tuesday evening that the Conservation Congress proposal was approved in 51 counties, rejected in 20. One county reported a tie vote. Vote totals by county were not yet available.

The vote shows that Wisconsin residents are worried about the number of birds and mammals killed by free-roaming cats., Conservation Congress chairman Steve Oestreicher of Harshaw said Tuesday night.

It does not mean, he said, that hunters want to shoot them.

"We're not talking about any cat hunt here," he said. "We're talking about whether the species should be listed as unprotected. Possums and skunks are unprotected now and we don't have possum hunts."

Before a landowner, or licensed hunter, could shoot a nuiscance, feral cat, state lawmakers - many of whom were steering clear of the issue Tuesday - would have to then pass a bill and get Governor Jim Doyle (D) to sign it.

"Is that likely to happen? Probably not," Oestreicher said. "This is a message to irresponsible pet owners. When you tire of your animals, don't turn it loose in the countryside."

Doyle, on a visit Tuesday to Appleton, said such a state law is unlikely.

"The DNR and the Legislature would have to approve it, and I just don't see that happening," he said.

Two states, South Dakota and Minnesota, allow hunters and landowners to kill nuisance cats, just like skunks or gophers, something the Humane Society of the United States called cruel and archaic.

Some estimates indicate 2 million wild cats roam Wisconsin. The state says studies show feral cats kill 47 million to 139 million songbirds a year.

Cat supporters speaking at the hearing Monday in Outagamie County said a more humane and effective approach is to trap and neuter wild cats.

State Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), co-chairman of the Legislature's powerful Joint Finance Committee, said he will "work against any proposed legislation to legalize the shooting of feral cats."

The Conservation Congress, a citizens group that advises the Wisconsin DNR, is considered a strong lobby on behalf of the state's hunters, but members were met by a coalition of cat lovers outraged by the plan proposed by Mark Smith, a La Crosse firefighter. Smith had faced death threats - and the clout of several national animal rights groups strongly denouncing his idea.

Smith proposed that the state should classify all wild cats as an unprotected species. The proposal defined such cats as those not under the owner's direct control or wandering by itself without a collar and noted that "feral domestic cats killed millions of small mammals, song and game birds" every year.

Smith and supporters have argued that the cats were an invasive species that hurt Wisconsin's wildlife. Critics said it was an inhumane and dangerous plan that would do nothing to reduce the population of feral cats.

In Australia a Liberal (right wing, conservative party) has told people to go and kill cane toads with cricket bats and golf clubs. Personally I agree with him, they are a foreign pest that kills a good deal of native wildlife. I would probably go even further and offer a bounty of $5 for every bucket of toads bought in. It would probably be more effective than this new poision they're spending millions on...

The Simpsons were responsible for the Cane Toad plague you know. :D