Cat Hunting in Wisconsin -- Conservation Congress at it again

[empirefalls]

MARK SMITH IS THE COUNTRY'S BIGGEST SCUMBAG



March 10, 2005

Cat hunt sponsor getting death threats



By DAN SPRINGER / La Crosse Tribune

A La Crosse man who wants the state to permit hunters to kill stray cats said he has received a wave of angry reaction to the proposal, including at least two death threats.

Since he requested a vote on his proposal at the Wisconsin Conservation Congress meetings April 11, Mark Smith said he's gotten phone calls and messages both at work and at home, according to La Crosse police.

One call made while Smith was working at the La Crosse Fire Department suggested "it should be ... open season on firefighters," according to police reports.

In another, a woman told Smith she had heard that if the Wisconsin Legislature approved his plan, "they will hunt Smith down and kill him," police said.

Smith, 48, has proposed that any cat not under its owner's direct control, or not wearing a collar, should be considered fair game for any hunter with a small-game license. He wants to see the state reclassify free-roaming cats as an unprotected species, arguing that the ones out in the wild are no different than other invasive species.

Smith said his proposal was prompted by cats prowling around the bird feeder at his home.

Hunters and others who attend the conservation congress spring hearings in each of the state's 72 counties next month will vote on the proposal, but the vote is advisory only. The Legislature would have to pass a measure to allow cats to be hunted.

Police are taking the threats against Smith seriously and are working to trace further calls to his home or workplace.

Smith was not at work Wednesday and did not return a call to his home Wednesday afternoon.

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/artic...news/02cat.txt

 

[gailc]

I signed the petition, and marked April 11 on my calendar. The location of my county's meeting isn't that out of the way for me. I'll post what I find out.

 

[mark kumpf]

It is amazing how supporting one sort of violence can lead to another. No group or occupation should be judged by the opinion of one person. For the person who said there should be an open season on firefighters, they should be ashamed of their own stupidity and lowering themselved BELOW this person by making personal attacks on a group that as a whole risks their lives daily to protect the rest of us. If they would just use that energy to deal with this in a professional and proper way, they would be able to do so much more. Now the focus is not on the issue, but the responses to the issue.

Arrgh. I'm putting my soapbox away for a while...

 

[gailc]

Good News!!!!!!!!!!
There was an article in the local paper-pleading cat lovers not to bombard the April 11th meeting because..............cats are of course domesticated animals which the WI DNR has no authority to create a law nor do they have any say on anything to do with cats. I couldn't find the article on line in my local paper. I'll post it verbatim tomorrow.

 

[gailc]

I don't know if anyone has is reading the dont' shoot the cats website. But this question has been moved up from Question 62 to Question 1. And in a couple days T-shirts will be available.

 

[caterpillar]

Who is this Mark Smith and what are his political connections? This cat killing scumbag should be locked away in jail for life.

Gail, is this freak of a human your neighbor?!

If this guy is really so concerned about the wild bird population, why doesn't he protest the destruction of rainforests and wildlife habitat in S. America, home to migratory birds?!! Or, what about the destruction of wildlife habitat in the U.S., more responsible for endangered bird species than a few free roaming cats that cannot even catch a bird??!!

The U.S. has become a killing society.

 

[gailc]

He is a person from LaCrosse, WI who initiated these whole debate. You can get all the details at www.dontshootthecat.com.
The meeting is monday night and I'll be there with my cat shirt on!!

 

[caterpillar]

I agree with all of the articles having a link to that website. Absolutely, humans are destroying wildlife and wild bird populations and they should, in fact, be good stewards of the planet. Humans are the only species in danger of destroying themselves and every living thing!

Thank you for the link.

 

[beckiboo]

I don't care if they don't want to be bombarded with catlovers. According to AlleyCat.org, you do not have to live in Wisconsin to vote. I am within an hour of Delavan, WI, and I am planning to go up and vote.

More details:
http://www.alleycat.org/wi.html
I cannot bear to think that my daughter's best friend, who lives in Wisconsin, could have her kitten Pastel shot just because she sneaks out. Or the bunch of ferals that lives in her neighborhood, what if a child witnesses them being slaughtered. I MUST do what I can to prevent this. I hope the work spreads, and Wisconsin is overrun by cat lovers.


Here's a quote from the Wisconsin site
"How did the status of feral cats question come to be placed on this spring's Conservation Congress questionnaire?

During last year's spring hearing in La Crosse county, a Wisconsin citizen, introduced a resolution to allow the dispatching of problem feral cats. After discussion, that resolution passed favorably in La Crosse County with a 53 -1 vote by the public. The Rules and Resolutions Committee of the Conservation Congress then assigned this resolution to our Legislative Committee. After extensive discussion, the Legislative Committee voted to forward the feral cat question to this year's spring hearing where we can hear citizen input and tally a statewide vote on this issue. If the statewide vote is against listing free roaming domestic feral cats as an unprotected species, the Conservation Congress will drop this issue. If the statewide vote supports such a listing, then the Conservation Congress may decide to recommend this listing to the Natural Resources Board. The Natural Resources Board may suggest a legislative change to list free roaming domestic feral cats as an unprotected species. Ultimately, the Legislature would decide whether to classify feral cats as an unprotected species."

NOTE THEY VOTED 53 TO 1-anyone who CAN get to a meeting Monday night 4/11, Must go!

 

[gilbertgrape]

I just went to the petition site and some idiot signed it by saying they were a "bird-killing cat" that murdered song birds. I am getting pretty tired of hearing about how our "evil" cats kill these birds and how this stupid idea is going to help stop that. I say that if they declare open season on cats, then we declare open season on birds. I can out do a cat on killing birds any day (not that I really want to but they go after my cats, I go after their birds) and I would plan on starting at Mark Smiths house.

On a side note, I have known people who have shot a cat. It was badly wounded and wild with pain and they were unable to get a hold of the vet so rather than let it suffer they thought it would be better to put it out of its misery. The guy was a hunter and knew what he was doing but afterwards he said he hated doing it. He said most of the time when you try to shoot a cat you will wound it rather than kill it. He also was a hunter who didn't believe in killing something unless you planned on eating it. And he was not the only hunter who I have heard express this opinion so I am hoping that the hunters of Wisconsin also have this attitude.

 

[empirefalls]

i have a theory 'people who kill cats are pedophiles'.taking the innocence of a cat is like taking the innocence of a child. so i accuse the ******* firefighter and any Wisconsin legislators who approve the cat killing bill of being pedophiles.

 

[gilbertgrape]

Originally Posted by empirefalls

i have a theory 'people who kill cats are pedophiles'.taking the innocence of a cat is like taking the innocence of a child. so i accuse the ******* firefighter and any Wisconsin legislators who approve the cat killing bill of being pedophiles.

I wouldn't say pedophiles. But there is actually a co-relation between serial killers and cat killers. Most serial killers start out on cats before targeting their main prey-humans. Wisconsin is about to give every potential serial killer an open lisence to start their practice. There goes the neighborhood.

 

[gilbertgrape]

I also just peeked into a bird lovers forum and although most were lovers of all animals which included cats (some even owned cats as pets) some seemed to think that the only solution to the bird-killing cats problem was to kill cats. And *AHEM!* some bird-lovers countered by saying that the cat posed no real threat to birds and was only being labeled a menace (which is what these cat-haters labeled our pets) because these individuals did not like them.

 

[caterpillar]

Blaming cats on killing birds is just an excuse to allow the shooting of innocent free roaming cats. Cats are domestic animals, so if you're going to allow the shooting of cats, you must allow the shooting of dogs, too.

Just because this guy is a fireman doesn't mean anything.

His hidden agenda sounds to me like the elimination of all cats.

 

[empirefalls]

Originally Posted by gilbertgrape

I wouldn't say pedophiles. But there is actually a co-relation between serial killers and cat killers. Most serial killers start out on cats before targeting their main prey-humans. Wisconsin is about to give every potential serial killer an open lisence to start their practice. There goes the neighborhood.

i was kinda half-serious/half-playing dirty by calling cat killers pedophiles. then again,if one is capable of killing a cat,my parental instincts tell me not let that type of person around my kids.

 

[gilbertgrape]

You did actually have a point though. People who do show aggresion towards animals do often have anti-social if not sociopathic tendencies. You would be very wise to not let any such person around your children.

 

[kalalane]

For those of you that do not know today in Wisconsin it will be voted on whether farrel cats should become unprotected and therefore allowed to be killed by hunters. This is already legal in Minnesota and South Dakota. FIGHT IT TODAY!

 

[gailc]

Well tonites the night I have my T-shirt that was ordered from the website. My county has a co-ordinator and we are to meet at 6:30 so all us cat people sit together.
Its been on the TV today and the radio-so this is BIG.
I'll post tomorrow with what happened!!

 

[rang_27]

I don't have time to read this whole thread, but as a Wisconsin resident I was sick when I first hear about this. There is a meeting about this tonight & a group of people from the shelter I volunteer at are going. I unfortunatly can't make it, but I turly believe this will never pass. The legistators would be just plain stuid if this went through.

 

[gailc]

What a rush!!!!!!!!!
My co-worker and I attended the beginning of the conservation congress meeting. We were the only ones wearing the don't shoot the cat shirts. I got interviewed by a local TV station-I don't know which one though. My friend thought I did a good job. I mentioned that shooting was not the answer, and explained what TNR is.
One could tell it was the "hunters" vs the women. My friend didn't like the odds- I told here that is how it is!!
Several women spoke everyone had a 3 minute time limit. There were very to the point, had facts and were not emotional at all. 2 or 3 hunter safety instructors also spoke some where kind of neutral on the issue. A few other men spoke and they also had very good points. Bottom line my county didn't get in a heated debate. I then voted by ballot and left. I should know what the results are soon.