Cat Hunting in Wisconsin -- Conservation Congress at it again

Actually feral cats are not responsible for the decimation of the birds that is a rumor going around that needs to be stopped and hopefully will soon.

I am merging this with the other thread

Agreed Hissy...actually the number one killer of songbirds is the decline of their winter habitat (due to destruction of forests for lumber etc.)..the number 2 reason is flying into windows...both of which are caused by humans. Feral cats are just the poor scapegoat.

Katie

Originally Posted by yellow-flower

MMMMMAAAADDDD! I don't think it's in place quite yet. I'm a birder also and I KNOW the damage feral cats cause. BUT, I also know that I have 2 indoor cats that will not wear a colar. And cat are good at loosing their colars when they get out or lost. If they got out then someone could just shoot them? Kinda defeats the tatoo or the microchip if it gets scanned AFTER the cat is dead huh? I'm sure ther are better way to deal with the problem. If it requires the killing of cats let it be very selective and a last resort. I think some people just hate cats and would like to kill them. I've heard many of these people at work laughing at how great it would be to kill a cat. ERRR.

OK off the soap box!
yellow-flower

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You're right, there is a better way. It's called TNR, or Trap, Neuter, Return, with management of the colony. It is the only way that has shown ANY decrease in the numbers of feral cats in an area. Eradication does not work, plain and simple, and that's what this plan wants to do. As well as play into the blood lust of some bubbas.

But don't blame the cats for the decimation of the bird populations. If that were the case, there wouldn't be any birds as the cats of the world would have killed them all hundreds of years ago. Humans are to blame for the vast majority of bird population decline. It's only the anti-cat groups, like ABC Birds, a.k.a. Cats Indoors!, who perpetually use the astronomical and INCORRECT numbers like 118 million bird kills per year in Wisconsin alone, from the Coleman/Temple "Wisconsin Study" which wasn't a study at all. Educate yourself, don't fall for the propoganda from only one side. Check out this page: http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/html/cat_predation.html Yes, we're a companion animal (cat) advocacy group, but look at it with an open mind, and please read the first two links: "Feral Cat Predation and Its Effect on Wildlife" and "Addressing The Wisconsin Study" for analysis of where the anti-cat people get their numbers.

One thing I noticed at the meeting on monday (besides all the beer bellied men in their flannel shirts) was that alot of them had a "pissed off" expression.
Like why the he** are you here-this meetin in for huntin guys!! You know what I mean.
I think all the cat lovers that showed up (mainly Women) really made them mad and they voted for the "cat hunting advisory".
But please remember this was just a advisory recommendation-it would be political suicide to made this a tre law in Wisconsin.
The DNR does not have ANY jurisdiction over any domestic animals.
But please keep checking on the dontshootthecat.com website for current updates.

I had posted on a bird forum and asked how they would like it if it was pushed to have their birds put on a list like this and they deleted it. Apparently most birders don't care to have any respect for any other animals.

PS-ALL they could talk about was how cats cause the downfall of birds.

A little quote from an idiot on that site:

I must comment on unbelievable cruelty to birds, rabbits and rodents which is letting cats roam the countryside.

Seriously, animal caught by cat feels pain and suffers. No animal feels better from being killed by predator than, say, by unnatural hunter. Any true animal rights group should probably sacrifice cats so their prey will live.

YUP, and all those bogus statistics about how may millions of song birds die because of cats are FACT over there. But however, the nasty rumors about magpies feeding on live stock is rubbish. No bird would ever do anything bad. Only "unnatural cats." Hmmph.

"Hunters" is an incorrect word. They are KILLERS.

I, too, would be extremely ashamed to live in Wisconsin, although Ohio has its idiots.

What's so wrong headed and perverse about this law is that it's giving the killers complete power and authority. Pet owners, TNR people, and animal lovers have lost their rights. Once the killers have been given the right to shoot cats, they will shoot any animal.

Originally Posted by caterpillar

"Hunters" is an incorrect word. They are KILLERS.

I, too, would be extremely ashamed to live in Wisconsin, although Ohio has its idiots.

What's so wrong headed and perverse about this law is that it's giving the killers complete power and authority. Pet owners, TNR people, and animal lovers have lost their rights. Once the killers have been given the right to shoot cats, they will shoot any animal.

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Sad, isn't it? The fact that they passed this vote-how stupid do you have to be to pass the vote? Disgusting. Considering that people in rural places let their pet cats roam free, how on Earth are they even going to tell if the cat is somebody's pet or not?

Dear God...the killing of the cats is INSANE. Have the people of Wisconsin gone mad? Why haven't they stopped this? This is so tragic.

THE CATS MUST BE SAVED. If this is allowed to happen then who or what is next on their stupid agenda? The ill, retarded, old or the homeless humans?:
In my area, feral cats are trapped, spayed or nutered, treated for illness & returned to their tribe to live out their life span. It works Wisconsin.

On a positive note apparently Governor Doyle is saying that this law will not pass & that he was upset by this because it has made Wisconsin a laughing stock. I don't know what that really means in the long run, but it says something when the Govenor of the state is againt it!

Originally Posted by Rang_27

On a positive note apparently Governor Doyle is saying that this law will not pass & that he was upset by this because it has made Wisconsin a laughing stock. I don't know what that really means in the long run, but it says something when the Govenor of the state is againt it!

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It certainly does, because if it has to go through the legislature, HE has to sign it into law.

Thank you for the update, Rang27! I was certainly disappointed to read it, though....I'm from a redneck area, too, although it's in CA; in the last 20 yrs. tho, the population base has grown to include transplants from So. Cal. and finally we have some fresh attitudes. I guess education really makes a difference!! We now have an animal rescue group & lots of positive changes are happening. I wish the sane people in WI the best; I will keep them in my thoughts & prayers.

Got a problem with hunting feral cats? Send our Governor a message

http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/contact.asp?locid=19

I guess shooting Doves during Dove hunting season was not enough, now the Gun Lobby is going after cats.

As there is an ongoing thread about this in SOS, I will move this there and merge it.

He got my two cents. Not that I'll have any influence over it but I feel better.

This thread has absolutely infuriated me and I do not live in Wisconsin so I feel powerless, but the animal lovers of Wisconsin must unite and get a petition circulating for the Governor. Then, the good citizens of Wisconsin have to demand political accountability for those in office, that is that they demand the support of their politicians for TNR programs in the state, and against the insane, defenseless slaughter of cats by the killers. You have to make it known and understood that you will NOT VOTE for anyone who supports the redneck killers and will become politically active against anyone who shows support for the redneck killing agenda.

Call the Governor's office, your Congressman, your Senators, your state officials, all state and local politicians to voice your views!

Can you imagine flannel-shirted, pot-bellied rednecks singing the praises of black-capped chickadees?! Give me a break!!

What matters most is for Wisconsin residents to attend the annual meetings as less than 14,000 people attended and voted on this matter. Very few people are making recommendations to the WI DNR and I don't think alot of people are aware of the power of the Conservation Congree. (including me!!)

Where I live there are a lot of hunters who also happen to be farmers and ranchers. They don't have any problems with cats, since cats keep down the rodent population that eat their grain, but I know they have shot at any animal that they believe "threaten" their livestock. I heard of this one guy who saw a bald eagle take of with a lamb once and there-after he actually shot bald eagles when he saw them. This was not only very stupid of him but very illegal. Can you imagine how bad it would be if eagles were not on a protected list? I seriously doubt that eagles take lambs on a regular basis, that one incident was probably a freak stroke of eagle luck. Yet here this guy is assuming that all eagles will come after his sheep. This is the problem with shooting things that "threaten" your animals. Not everyone who has a gun will use common sense when trying to determine if there is a legitimate threat or not. I think it is a bad idea to open season on any "nusiance" animal because the term can be used so lightly. You're eagle ate my sheep, gonna kill it. You're cat ate my bird, gonna kill it. You're dog pooped in my yard, gonna kill it. These aren't solutions, they are reactions. They will not solve any problems.

I posted this in IMO forum and it may be a bit off topic, but this CNN article reports that South Dakota and Minnesota allow shooting of cats.

Here's some news from Ohio. This might be of interest:


Man gets 3 years for shooting quartet of cats


POSTED: Thursday, February 17, 2005 4:33:22 PM
UPDATED: Thursday, February 17, 2005 10:57:44 PM


NORTON -- A Norton man will spend the next three years in prison for shooting a quartet of cats last October.

Police say 57-year-old Daniel Fikes used a 22-caliber rifle and shot one of his wifeâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s cats as it sat on a kitchen chair.

He did it front of three children.

Fikes then grabbed three remaining cats, shot them as well, and dumped them in a hole in his backyard