Wisconsin considers hunting free-roaming cats

[doodadem]

Olbermann also covered this on his show last night:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7475469/

"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."

I didn't realize both MN and SD already allow this.........

[loveable liberal]

1. the argument is that the stray cats kill a lot of gamebirds.

preventing hunters from killing the gamebirds.

[Anakin Skywalker]

36. "preventing hunters from killing the gamebirds"

YOU GOT IT! That's what's really at stake. Amazing how many cannot see through this cat straw argument.

[DrGonzoLives]

2. Hmmmm

"Every year in Wisconsin alone, an estimated 2 million wild cats kill 47 million to 139 million songbirds, according to state officials."

[Selteri]

27. Not completely surprising since 2 strays can produce

a million cats in 11 years. At least mathematically, I guess cats are really good at multiplication.

[bobthedrummer]

3. I don't think it will pass here in Wisconsin, otoh we shoot mourning doves

here all ready. I think there are just too many pussy lovers here for this to pass.

[warrens]

4. I've got a pet cat and a pet mourning dove

Thank god I live in Illinois

[Cary]

5. Cats are really dangerous, don't you know?

[collin]

6. The feral cats are quite a menace.

We have a problem with them out on our farm. Every year we have to eliminate twenty to thirty of them. Wisconsin would do well to keep the wild cat population in check.

[Hobarticus]

9. Welcome to DU!!!!

:hi:

[collin]

13. Thanks!

[doodadem]

15. How are they a "menace", exactly?

At the barn we used to board our horses at in Ohio, we had a huge feral cat population. We were able to catch (I was champion cat catcher!) a number of them, and have them neutered/vacinnated. However--big barn in the country--every time you turned around, someone was dumping another cat off. People seem to think that's an ok thing to do. THOSE are the people who should have their necks wrung, especially when they can never bring themselves to have the animals neutered.
A certain number of cats at a barn are great because they keep down vermin--rats, mice, gophers. My current barn cat here more than earns his keep, and he was a stray that showed up, starving, wet, and cold.
But there's not much chance of cat overpopulation in this area of Calif.--too many coyotes and hawks. My 6 indoor cats are never allowed outside.

[collin]

20. They were killing our chickens and guinea hens,

killing the geese and ducks, and being all around pests. There were tons of them, and still are. While they look just like my pets, these animals are not pets. Having some is great, and there are about five that we keep around, that are spayed/neutered. The rest get dumped, or just randomly appear.

[Doremus]

29. Cats are solitary hunters.

They don't hunt in packs, so I'm having great difficulty understanding how an average-sized cat can fell a goose. And to tell you the truth, I don't see them easily overtaking ducks or chickens either, though it might be possible if the cat were large enough, but only if there were no easier prey around.

As to this cat hunting proposal, it may give gun-toting, testosterone-laden aggressive types their jollies, but it will do little if anything to control the feral population. Studies have shown that spay/neuter/release programs work better.

[dbackjon]

32. Cats have no problems with nestlings

Or even when the adult is on the nest.

And the notion that spay/neuter/release programs work is a myth - you are still putting the aggressive predator in the wild.

The only option to help save the essential bird population is to eliminate free-roaming cats.

[underthedome]

7. What is a free-roaming wild cat?

Is that the same as a house cat? Could you not let your cat roam outside?

[Hobarticus]

11. I think they're referring to feral cats in rural areas....

Ferals have 'gone wild'; they're not cuddly and cute anymore. They've either been abandoned or have run away and can't find their way home, and have reverted back to their predatory nature.

[Hobarticus]

8. If these are feral animals loose in rural areas...

Feral domestics can be a problem. On a family friend's farm, there was a large pack of wild dogs that hunted year-round. New fawns, gamebirds, anything was fair game; they were fearless. One came at me, once, and he wasn't looking to play fetch.

Local humane society wanted nothing to do with them.

[Zynx]

10. I've seen feral dogs...that can get ugly.

They're basically bad tempered wolves.

[Hobarticus]

12. I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I've been truly afraid

and that was one of them.

[bobthedrummer]

25. The wild dogs are killers.

A pack of them dragged a 5 year old girl to her death not far from where we live.

I can see putting down wild dogs as a precaution, but not cats.

[CheshireCat]

24. Feral Cats

On and off for 20 years, I have worked with groups who capture feral cats and have them spayed. Most of the feral cats I have known were ANYTHING BUT DANGEROUS! Many feral cat communities are started by pets that are abandoned. The people that abandon them should be in prison.

I have tamed many feral cats over the years. Some I keep and some I put up for adoption. The love and affection I have received from these felines cannot be measured.

Right now, I have an 8 year-old part Siamese cat named Cady (after Elizabeth Cady Stanton) that was born to a feral mother cat. Catching her and her siblings was not easy, but she is one of the joys of my life. She was worth the trouble.

Thank goodness they don't shoot cats in SC!

These animals deserve the right to exists whether they are owned by humans or not.

[RedCloud]

14. So how would they prepare the kill?

Don't hunters usually eat what they kill?

My dog wants to know!

[triguy46]

16. feral cats, just like feral pigs

are a problem. I've lived in the country for 25 years and people
dumping pets is a real problem. This really isn't too far from
the "wild horse" issue. If we ever run short of "wild horses" all
we have to do is turn domesticated horses loose. The overly romanticized image of these animals belies the problems caused. These are not the
natural environs for these animals, unless you turn back the evolutionary clock, (OOPS! theres no such thing as evilution!!)

[AlGore-08.com]

17. The problem is, of course, distinguishing the tame from the feral

Even if a tame cat has a collar, a hunter might not see it (especially from a distance) and shoot the wrong animal. What will happen to hunters who accidentally shoot a tame cat wearing a collar and license?

[fertilizeonarbusto]

18. That is the crux, isn't it?

However, my cat tells me that cats are organizing resistance-and remember they have great eyesight and can see in the dark. Wisconsin hunters, beware!

[dbackjon]

19. I'm all for this

Feral cats are a huge environmental issue - they kill countless millions of songbirds yearly.

Any cat that is not indoors is fair game, IMHO. If you truly love your cat, you keep them indoors 24/7.

Only a person that was not concerned about thier cat would let it roam outdoors, ever.

[Ian David]

23. I have a win-win solution

Bird strikes are a huge problem at airports.

Capture the cats and release them near airports to hunt-down all the seagulls that get sucked into jet engines.

Either that, or send dead cats to Bill Frist on Valentines Day.

He'll appreciate it even more than Barbara Boxer enjoyed all our roses.

[TX-RAT]

21. Since when were they protected?

[jpgray]

22. Firefighter Mark Smith was reahced for comment: "My cat says eeeeACK!"

It's obscure, but funny to me.

[Selteri]

26. Have a buddy who lives in the rural Wisconsin area

he says the feral cats are a complete menace, but they also keep the rodents away at the same time. What a catch 22.

[Yavin4]

28. I Believe That John Ashcroft Is Behind This

The bastard!

[mbperrin]

30. Oh, yeah, the ESTIMATED cats do in the birds, right?

None of the buildup of pesticides in the agri-chain is thinning the shells of these birds, none of the air and water pollution is affecting, the new construction of all-white suburbs certainly doesn't affect birds, right? And airports never have an impact, nor the noise in urban areas, nor hunters, nor loss of habitat, either.

Damn, those birds are tough, except for the fact that they are easy prey for TABBY!! FROM HELL!

What? Run out of real game to kill?

[dbackjon]

33. All those other reasons are hurting the bird population as well

But it is hypocritical to ignore one cause because the culprits are cute little fuzzy kitties......



And game birds are not the major target of the cats - it is warblers, robins, etc.

[one_true_leroy]

31. I'm all for it...

few things are as dangerous to native small game and wild life than a free-range cat. they really have no equal as predators (in their size range), and kill for sport, not just food. not only, but feral cats are a real menace to domestic cats, both physically and medically, because of their greater potential for catching and spreading diseases.

[doodadem]

34. Sad to say

My 3 dogs kill more birds than my one outdoor cat does. I keep trying to tell them that we do NOT stock the bird feeders just to lure the birds in for them. They tend to get a slow one about once a month.
On the other hand, when we first moved here, we were totally overrun with ground squirrels. Not only do they turn your property into a lunar landscape where both humans and horses can break an ankle (which I can personally testify to), they do millions of dollars in crop damage. I've had them decimate my garden before, plus they moved into my garage where we had to store all the furniture that wouldn't fit in the little farmhouse here. They TOTALLY destroyed it. We lost a set of mattresses, chairs, personal mementos/papers,--I was just sick about it.
It's easy to feel sorry for poor little squirrels until you have them waging war on you (shades of Blume County!) Faint of heart--turn away. We finally became desperate enough to go to the County Extension office and get their poisoned grain, and feeder plans. It took about a year (and my broken ankle), but we finally got them under control. We no longer stock the feeders, but with the barn cat, have not seen any squirrels either.
As for feral cats being a menace to domestic cats--only if you don't vaccinate and neuter your cat.

[Lorien]

35. A bigger danger to wildlife

Humans. They very often kill for sport, and not for food. Plus they destroy habitat, water and air quality.

[Moderator]

37. locking

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http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=3032897


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