OJR Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 This guy would get my vote in a heart beat! Wis. Man Wants to Legalize Cat Hunting Monday, March 07, 2005 MADISON, Wis. — Hunter Mark Smith welcomes wild birds on to his property, but if he sees a cat, he thinks the "invasive" animal should be considered fair game. The 48-year-old firefighter from La Crosse has proposed that hunters in Wisconsin make free-roaming domestic cats an "unprotected species" that could be shot at will by anyone with a small-game license. His proposal will be placed before hunters on April 11 at the Wisconsin Conservation Congress (search) spring hearings in each of the state's 72 counties. "I get up in the morning and if there's new snow, there's cat tracks under my bird feeder ... I look at them as an invasive species, plain and simple," Smith said. Smith's proposal has horrified cat lovers, but is seen by others as a way to stop cats from killing wild birds. University of Wisconsin-Madison wildlife ecology professor Stanley Temple, who trapped more than 100 cats and analyzed their stomach contents during a four-year study, has estimated that between 7.8 million and 219 million birds are killed by rural cats in Wisconsin each year. "It's obviously a very controversial proposal," Temple said, but added, "I think there really is a basis for having a debate about it." The Conservation Congress is a five-member elected body whose duty is to advise the Department of Natural Resources (search) and the Legislature on natural resources issues. DNR attorney Tim Andryk said the vote would simply be "an advisory recommendation" to state lawmakers. "We (the DNR) don't have authority to regulate domestic animals. Legislation would have to be passed to accomplish this," Andryk said. "You might also have to amend laws relating to abuse of domestic animals." But Temple said he thinks legislation is not needed. He said the department does have the authority to declare rural cats an unprotected species — because unclaimed cats can be considered nonnative wildlife species like house mice, Norway rats, pigeons and starlings. "If they are not a pet, if somebody doesn't claim ownership, they become a nonnative wildlife species and not entitled to protection by the state," he said. Cat enthusiasts Cheryl Balazs, Ted O'Donnell and Adam Bauknecht are trying to organize opposition to Smith's proposal. O'Donnell, a co-owner of MadCat Pet Supplies, recently set up a Web site, dontshootthecat.com, to inform people about it. O'Donnell said Smith's proposal "is a callous response" to the problem of cats preying on wild birds. "There's more humane solutions," he said. "We as citizens should step up and solve the problem humanely." Sheri Carr, senior humane officer at the Dane County Humane Society (search), said the group has not yet taken a position on the proposal, but wants cat owners to abide by their local ordinances and not let their animals roam. "I would hate to think that tame, owned cats who happen to slip out would be at risk of being deemed a wild, unprotected species," Carr said. "It's a delicate (ecological) balance out there, but does that mean people should be able to shoot their neighbor's cat? Probably not." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! wow! they sure are serious about this! i hope lil-blonde-deer-killer doesnt read this!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut_Buster Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! If i see a cat when i'm huntin..... its dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horst Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! [ QUOTE ] You have got to be kidding me...as if there aren't more important things to worry about! If there are that many of em', trap em and send them to the big cities that have rat problems and get on to serious work! [/ QUOTE ] Actualy its a pretty serious issue in a lotta urban areas.Housecats or feral cats kill lots of birds, and raise havock on pheasant populations, and other game bird poulations.Some of these farms have anywhere from 1 to 20+ cats running free and hunting for game.They dont even eat what they kill a lotta times, just kill for fun.Kinda like the dog issue, if people are gonna have cats they should keep em at home where they belong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWSmith Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! Dont believe for a second that birds are the only prey on those cats menu!!! Bird...Bird...I aint seen no stinking bird around here man Sometimes you just have to hunt..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alisha Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! PLEASE make this legal in West Virginia too.... LOL *crosses fingers* I'm still debating on whether or not to give my neighbor a warning about her 40-some odd cats wandering around on our property before they start to vanish from the neighborhood permanently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slugshooter Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! I think this guy has just done more to harm hunters and the publics view of them than any humane society group. Basically he is saying that if you see a cat in your driveway you can shoot it, regardless of laws against shooting in populated areas, we have a cat that always comes around, you know how I get rid of it, I stomp at him and he runs away, and this is in a rural area where I could stand in the front of my house with a gun and noone would bat an eye. Because of this guy, hunters are gonna be looked at as heartless kitty killers who go around killing small animals for the fun of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! i agree 100% with you slugshooter, we are all going to be painted with the same brush... then all of the people that dont shoot them are going to have anti's breathing down our throats! just give your foot a good stomp and that gets rid of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest beardsNspurs Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! The biologists estimates have a "give-or-take" window of only a mere 211.2 million birds. I agree with downsouth....get on to something more important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! [ QUOTE ] if people are gonna have cats they should keep em at home where they belong. [/ QUOTE ] Kind of agree with this. But cats around a farm are not a bad thing really, they do kill mice and some snakes too which is a good thing. Personally I dont really care for cats, but not so sure the way this guy is going about this is really the right approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Finn Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! My last cat as a kid killed 10 of our chickens...just before my brothers took it for a walk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnf Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! There are more quiet ways of killing a cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alisha Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! One or two cats in a neighborhood aren't too bad to deal with but a woman that lives at the end of our road owns almost 50 cats which she tends to let out of the house in bunches of 10 or more at a time. This past December, myself, sister, and Dad bought my mom a $100 bird feeder (for her birthday) and after placing it on our back porch it's become nothing more than an expensive buffet for that womans cats. I've shoveled up more than a few dead birds and piles of feathers from underneath it. Now, I'm not gonna step out onto our back porch and start blasting at the cats or anything, although I must admit that I'd like to sometimes. I agree that it would really do hunters more bad than good if something like this was proposed to the public. It's just so frustrating to have a neighbor like I have. You just sorta have to grin and bear it...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnf Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! I think I would have to get a high powered pellet gun and discourage the cats from coming in. Is there a privacey fence in your yard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horst Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! [ QUOTE ] Any way i seem to be rambling on we are hunters of wild game not feline hunters of domestic pets.I dont believe in dove or cat killing [/ QUOTE ] It would be different if they were all domestic pets, but thiers so many stray cats running around its not even funny.They do two things, eat and breed.In town here they have an ordinance against dogs running loose.but they wont touch the cats that are running around.Every empty building and several that arent empty like the local elevator buildings have dozens of these feral cats in them.My nieghbor must have 15 cats in her house, which is fine till it gets dark and she lets em out to run till morning.Then they rip open my garbage, get my dogs barking, and I get the sherrifs office called on me for the dogs barking and the garbage scattered all over the nieghborhood.Call the city, they do nothing.On the other hand with a flashlight an pellet gun, I could take care of the problem myself.When you let em run wild they arent any different then coon, skunks, coyotes, fox, or any other animal we already have a season open on, theyre just another predator running wild and in town theyre a real nuisance.I se post after post in the deer hunting room about wild dogs running deer and stuff, these cats arent any better IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayman Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! Heeeeeere kitty kitty kitty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWSmith Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! [ QUOTE ] There are more quiet ways of killing a cat. [/ QUOTE ] LOL...Just make them curious about something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! I love the idea. Heck it used to be legal to shoot cats in NY years ago. If you want to own a cat that's great. Just keep it in the house. Where I grew up in Hamilton the stray cat population grows exponentially as soon as the college students leave in May and breed all summer long. Most of them starve to death over the winter. Where is PETA to help these cats. Where I live now my only neighbors are the turkey and deer. I came home from deer camp one day to find a feral cat stalking my 2 year old daughter. That cat got .30 cc of lead poisoning. As I said before I have turkeys come around with their chicks in the spring. I have come to learn that when they disappear there is usually a cat in the area and the birds won't come back till I cure the problem. If you don't want to shoot the cats I say recycle them. Spray them with coon scent and train coon hounds. That's what my friend does with the scurvy felines. Ranger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wisconsinboy Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! Meoowwwww......BANG!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaskMan Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! Unspayed or non neuttered cats will reproduce like wildfire, I don't see it as such a bad idea, after all we're not hunting in our neighbour's yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbonhunter Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] You have got to be kidding me...as if there aren't more important things to worry about! If there are that many of em', trap em and send them to the big cities that have rat problems and get on to serious work! [/ QUOTE ] Actualy its a pretty serious issue in a lotta urban areas.Housecats or feral cats kill lots of birds, and raise havock on pheasant populations, and other game bird poulations.Some of these farms have anywhere from 1 to 20+ cats running free and hunting for game.They dont even eat what they kill a lotta times, just kill for fun.Kinda like the dog issue, if people are gonna have cats they should keep em at home where they belong. [/ QUOTE ] Its a HUGE problem, we did something like the prof. in high school, looking at feril cats and the things they do to a bird population. I have personally seen cats go after quail nests and also seen them dragging hen pheasents around. If you have a cat it had better be kept under a tight key in my neighbor hood, other wise the .22 will bark and by by kitty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyj987 Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! I love cats....have two of them. That said, I have no problem with getting rid of feral cats. William made a good point...farm cats do have an important role, but generally they stay fairly close to the farm so I don't think they're part of the problem. I guess I'm just ticked off because a while back I went squirrel hunting and saw no squirrels---but did see a feral cat....lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan_Til_I_Die Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! Ask the Australians if feral cats are a problem. They're losing entire species of birds and small mammals to them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IADEERDUDE Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Re: Cats in Wisconsin! where do we sign up!!! here kitty kitty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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