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Wisconsin Considers Legalizing Cat Hunting

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posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 12:48 PM
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MADISON, Wis. (April 12) - Feline lovers holding pictures of cats, clutching stuffed animals and wearing whiskers faced-off against hundreds of hunters at meetings around Wisconsin to voice their opinion on whether to legalize cat hunting.

Residents in 72 counties were asked whether free-roaming cats - including any domestic cat that isn't under the owner's direct control or any cat without a collar - should be listed as an unprotected species. If listed as so, the cats could be hunted.

The proposal was one of several dozen included in a spring vote on hunting and fishing issues held by the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. The results, only advisory, get forwarded to the state Natural Resources Board.

Statewide results were expected Tuesday.

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.

At least two other upper Midwestern states, South Dakota and Minnesota, allow wild cats to be shot - and have for decades. Minnesota defines a wild, or feral, cat as one with no collar that does not show friendly behavior, said Kevin Kyle with that state's Department of Natural Resources.

Every year in Wisconsin alone, an estimated 2 million wild cats kill 47 million to 139 million songbirds, according to state officials. Despite the astounding numbers, Smith's plan has been met with fierce opposition from cat lovers.

Critics of Smith's idea organized Wisconsin Cat-Action Team and developed a Web site - dontshootthecat.com. Some argue it is better to trap wild cats, spay or neuter them, before releasing them.

In Madison, about 1,200 people attended the Monday evening meeting at the Alliant Center - more than the 250 or so in a typical year, but less than the 3,000 or so who took part in a debate in 2000 over whether to allow hunters to shoot mourning doves.

One of the attendees was Katy Francis, who wore cat ears, whiskers, a cat nose and a sign that read, ''Too Cute to Kill.'' For Francis, ''The cat hunting thing brought me out because it was very extreme.''

I agree this for me is extreme.. what if you lose your cat by accident and find out it was killed a few days ago,doesnt sound good at all. Cats are made for family pets not for hunting, as a hunter even this is extreme to me what would you accomplish by killing a cat? And plus this would mean holding a gun in a domestic area with people around which is for me unsafe now if it was in the woods it would be another story. But hunting cats whats next hunting dogs?
Ill take any members views on this subject.

AOL

Boston.com News



[edit on 12-4-2005 by ShadowMan]



posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 02:59 PM
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Yes I heard about this and see this as just terrible. I can only image events where a cat escapes the house and only later found to have been shot by some neighbor.


Not everyone is going to try to hard to see if the cat has a collar. Plus some people who don’t let there cats outside don’t always have a collar on their cats. What would happen if that cat does manage to bolt out the door when someone walks in? I know my cat does that.



[edit on 12-4-2005 by Lethys]

[edit on 12-4-2005 by Lethys]



posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 03:11 PM
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I think we should allow people to hunt wild dogs.



posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 04:34 PM
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What about wild humans? How many animals do humans kill a year? We should legalize hunting humans.

I swear, wtf is wrong with people? "Gee, I don't like cats, I should be allowed to go to a pet store and shoot all the cats."



posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 05:46 PM
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Hunting domestic cats? Horrible. Don't these people have moonshine to make, or cousins to sleep with? Surely, they must have something better to do with their time



posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 05:57 PM
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Hmm, can see the pros and cons of this, on the one hand its mean, cruel and totaly unecessary.

On the other it'll stop the little bastards crapping in my garden.



posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 06:08 PM
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Aww crapping in your garden is good; helps the flowers grow. You should try it some time
And you are right, it is unneccessary. Cats should not be allowed to roam around any more than dogs should. It is against the law, at least where I am from, Connecticut.



posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 06:11 PM
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Nah, what i mean is cats should stop crapping on my lawn, cos every time i mow it i get short sharp showers of....

Not nice, perhaps i should also get rid of me mums cats, allieviate the problem a little. Time to move to Wisconsin!



posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 06:28 PM
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lmao Yeah, that is a problem. Aside from a raincoat and an umbrella, I suppose Wisconsin is your next best choice. Don't understand though, I mean will people be doing drive-by shootings on these cats, hunting them from their bathroom windows, or must these cats be in wooded areas like deer? Hate to see peolpe let out their cats and have to dodge bullets at the same time....



posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 06:31 PM
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The one thing that I am not hearing the libral anti hunters saying is yes I should keep my cat tied up or in the house. Just so you know In Wisconsin and Illinois where I grew up we do shoot wild dogs and cats when we need to but only if they are causing a lot of trouble. What would happen by us is that people would bring whole litters of puppies and just dump them near our farm they would be running wild and killing things like sheep and other pets. They have no fear like a normal wild animal and were actually dangerous. If you do not want your pet shot keep a collar on them because we did not shoot anything with a collar and do not allow them to run and that goes for cats and dogs.



posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 06:54 PM
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Here's the WDNR's news release, and study analysis. The problem is not just contained to cats but to dogs also. the biggest problem with cats is that, to my knowledge, there are no laws for keeping cats on a leash or penned in much like a dog is required to do. One of the biggest problems which is stated in the news release is the fact that it upsets the ecological balance of the ecosystems. Whether or not hunting is a good way to control cat populations is to be seen.

WDNR News Release



posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 07:22 PM
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Originally posted by Mephorium

Don't understand though, I mean will people be doing drive-by shootings on these cats, hunting them from their bathroom windows, or must these cats be in wooded areas like deer?


Most states don't allow firearms to be fired within urban areas i believe. This has more to do with wildlife refuge areas and nesting sites, than with urban cats.


slayer

I think we should allow people to hunt wild dogs.


Actually reading some from the WDNR site, they will put dogs down if all other means to control them fail. Also, there is $175 dollar fine for every deer a dog kills.



posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 07:32 PM
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I'm all for it! And for the liberal-conservative labelers - I'm a liberal in your sense of the word.

I eat animals. MMM animals. They have to be killed for me to eat them. Some of them are killed by hunters, therefor I'd be a hipocrite not to support hunting. I don't delight in it, but it happens, and I know that, and MMMM animals.

Sure, some people take in cats as pets, but that does not make them some sacred protected animal. I have snakes, and people just love to tell me how many snakes they have killed. I'd love to see the reaction if I brought up how many cats I took out or how many obnoxious dogs I euthanized. People like to believe that animals they choose to keep as pets are somehow more protected than animals they don't keep. Screw that.

To the original poster: great thread! But I have to ask in return - what would one accomplish by killing a squirell, groundhog, snake, lizard, bat, crow, rat, fox, racoon, opossum...

And a final question: are cats tasty? I'd try one. I'd try dog too. MMMMmm animals. One is no better than another or too good for me to eat. (Before someone posts about a Chinese Restaurant - It's an old joke
)

Heeeere kitty kitty!



posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 08:36 PM
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Originally posted by RedBalloon

I eat animals. MMM animals. They have to be killed for me to eat them. Some of them are killed by hunters, therefor I'd be a hipocrite not to support hunting. I don't delight in it, but it happens, and I know that, and MMMM animals.

Sure, some people take in cats as pets, but that does not make them some sacred protected animal. I have snakes, and people just love to tell me how many snakes they have killed. I'd love to see the reaction if I brought up how many cats I took out or how many obnoxious dogs I euthanized. People like to believe that animals they choose to keep as pets are somehow more protected than animals they don't keep. Screw that.

To the original poster: great thread! But I have to ask in return - what would one accomplish by killing a squirell, groundhog, snake, lizard, bat, crow, rat, fox, racoon, opossum...


That raises the question. Do we need to ban game hunting as such. If you have to shoot..go shoot clay pigeons, not some living creatures. Fun, should not be the reason we go about shooting heads off some poor animal. Makes us seem like that DC sniper..
As for killing animals for food is concerned, hmm...not exactly moral but we have to eat something...


And a final question: are cats tasty? I'd try one. I'd try dog too. MMMMmm animals. One is no better than another or too good for me to eat. (Before someone posts about a Chinese Restaurant - It's an old joke
)

Heeeere kitty kitty!


Hmm......I have "seen" people try worms, snakes, tiger penises even humans (remember Wendy's
)...Maybe the time of cats has come..Halle Berry wont be pleased


[edit on 12-4-2005 by Quake]



posted on Apr, 13 2005 @ 12:13 AM
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I worked at an animal hospital for awhile and really. We put down more strays a day than I could count. Were allready killing mass amount of cats and dogs daily. Were just clogging up kennels with them waiting to be put down.

I mean its the truth but whats it matter if there shot or injected with "Kill-All"(the actual name of the syrum we used)? Plus they wouldnt allow hunting within city limits so it would only be feral cats in the wilderness. They are deffinatly not domestic and if you think so youve never handled a feral cat before...You dont touch those whirling balls of fur and claws with ten foot poles man.



posted on Apr, 13 2005 @ 12:38 AM
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i keep my cat on a leash when outside. but thing is he got out one night last summer. it took me 2 weeks of vacation (extreemly lucky timeing for me), to find him. i was out at all hours trying to find him. aparently he got lost and when i found him i had to trap him. he was terrified. once i got him home he was very happy to be back. if this hunting law had been around he would likely have been shot. as he was not friendly, he was too scared. i know of plenty of strays on the otherhand that are quite friendly.

i have no problems with animal controll takeing them and holding them to see if they do have an owner, and if not adopting them out. one of the cats we had when i was a kid was a stray kitten from a litter a neibour had found and had given away to the kids in the area with parental consent. he was the coolist cat i have ever had, and huge his scratching height was at 5 feet high. he could just sreatch and get to the counter easily. and man was he friendly. back then we were in the suburbs so he ran free. i once found him over 10 km from home on one of his wanderings, a freind and i were going to a hobby shop. got off the bus and there he was. heck he came to us and sure enough it was him. no wonder he used to disapear for a few days at a time


one of my friends had animal controll tell him that if his cat killed any more racoons they were going to have to kill it. why racoons are not anywhere endangered. in fact they did a lot of damage in the area. personaly i don't see the problem with even stray cats they keep the rat population down as well as get rid of a few pigeions. (too bad canada geese are too big we could use less of them as well damm nasty critters, they will attack for food and their dung is everywhere at the lake).



posted on Apr, 13 2005 @ 12:42 AM
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Let's see, 8 cats or 1,000,000,000,000,000 mice/rats? When lived on farm house we had 11 cats and still had mice left over. Ok, has to have a collar, oh wait, can't see a collar from 100 feet away, or 50, or 20, or 10...... so just go to the local pet store and start shooting.

People, you realize there are millions of birds? And most of them pests/parasite? Cowbirds, European Starling, Red Wing Black Birds, Grackels, all pests, are nasty little buggers.

Edit
Drogo, my cat has gone after ducks. But geese? Those things can kill a man with their neck. Also, again, there was this thing called the Black Plague, and one of the reasons it was such a problem was that the christians are stupid and killed all the cats, so the rats overpopulated, and well, it spread like the plague. Oh no, it ate a Robin, there are only 712million left now! Or another good one, Peacokcs. Cat going after a peacock then freaking out when it does the tail fan thing making it look twice as big.

[edit on 13-4-2005 by James the Lesser]



posted on Apr, 13 2005 @ 01:40 AM
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Pheh anyone who says that all cats should be kept in doors or on a leash has lost sight of the purpose behind the domestication of cats. In rural areas especially having a cat for pest control purposes is a very useful practice. Keeping it on a leash sort of defeats the purpose as James the Lesser wisely points out.

This seems more to be about territoriality then any rational impulse. There is no reason for this law to be put into practice, its just an illdisguised excuse to legally shoot the neighbors cat. I am a firm believer in leaving thinks to the professionals lets leave animal control to animal control. By the way I am a very strong animal lover, I love all animals (though not as much when they crap all over the place) most especially my cat. Suffice to say that if you were to shoot my cat because it naively wanders into your territory there would be hell to pay and blood spilled. Lets just say that your life would be worth less to me than that of my dead cats. Im sure Im not the only one who shares that sentiment.

On a side note isnt it strange that some people would be more willing to kill another person then a animal? For example I would be ten times more able to kill an enemy soldier then his dog, and also thanks to the internet i have been desensitized to all manner of human suffering but the sight of an animal suffering never ceases to disturb me.



posted on Apr, 13 2005 @ 02:00 AM
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Ever notice no one ever throws poison fire ant parties? Sure it would be useful as those things kill crops as well as useful animals. Doesn't happen since it doesn't seem like much of a challenge. Would it be challenging in a rewarding sense to snipe and kill a 10 pound tom cat? Sounds like to me these hunters have more problems on their hands other than actual game animals (inflated egos and no real confidence). Why not find a way to intentional increase the Bear population through breeding, then release the by-product into an area and allow hunting? Now that would take real courage imho. Cats? Give me a break, that's barely above shooting a large fish that is already out of the water. I noticed other peeps mentioned rat/mouse population control. The black plague isn't the only diesease carried by rodents... In summary, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. :-/



posted on Apr, 13 2005 @ 05:19 AM
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I just knew it was too good to be true. All kitty cats are at a high risk of being shot. My guess is that if hunting cats is legal, what are the Chinese restraunts going to do? They will have to compete with other hunters and fresh cat meat will skyrocket in price.



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