Should it be legal to kill pet cats roaming around the neighbourhood?

Originally posted by snowspirit

Originally posted by TheCommentator
Don’t any of you see the extreme hypocrisy of what your all saying?
It’s wrong to kill animals unless you use a cat to do it.
So technically I can use a cat to kill your pet cats and you wouldn’t care

Are you trying to protect mice and rats? If so, then catch a bunch of them put them in cages, so that they don't get killed by their natural predator, the cat

Those are the animals that people are saying it's ok for the cats to kill. Rats, and mice. Rats and mice spread diseases like the plague, and hantavirus, which kill people.

In Australia they kill a lot more then mice and rats
even then rats and mice play a large roll in the food chain and should be just as protected as any other native animal.

Originally posted by TheCommentator

Originally posted by snowspirit

Originally posted by TheCommentator
Don’t any of you see the extreme hypocrisy of what your all saying?
It’s wrong to kill animals unless you use a cat to do it.
So technically I can use a cat to kill your pet cats and you wouldn’t care

Are you trying to protect mice and rats? If so, then catch a bunch of them put them in cages, so that they don't get killed by their natural predator, the cat

Those are the animals that people are saying it's ok for the cats to kill. Rats, and mice. Rats and mice spread diseases like the plague, and hantavirus, which kill people.

In Australia they kill a lot more then mice and rats
even then rats and mice play a large roll in the food chain and should be just as protected as any other native animal.

Cats kill mice and stuff because of instinct. You, as a human, should be able to restrained such urges. Unless you are the sociopath you sound like.

Originally posted by TheCommentator
But I cant care about your cat destroying my property/coming on to my land?
Im sorry if you care but native wildlife is more important

Did I say you can't care? Of course you can care. That is precisely what I am saying. Property is property. If your property is damaged by my pet, I would be responsible for it by law. You SHOULD care about it, just as I would care if MY property ( Again, pets are property)were destroyed.

But here is the thing though. If your property is destroyed. It is not your right to take the law into your own hands and retaliate by destroying my property. You get the police involved and press charges. Use the law. It's there for a reason.

If you kill my cat, I can't retaliate by breaking your windows. If my pet destroys your property, you can't retaliate by killing my pet ( Read "destroying my property")

As for what is more important. You say wildlife is more important. But speak for yourself.

My property is more important to me than wild animals. Your disagreement does not change what is important to me.

Pets are by law, property. Wild animals are not. It just so happens that I side with the law on this one.

I'm not sure what other tiny little animals are in Australia, but rats and mice breed so fast that if their population is protected from predators, you will be overrun by rats and mice.

Again, the diseases mice and rats spread kills people, and when they get into your house, and chew through the electrical wires in the house, that can also cause fires.

When you wake up in the morning and your kitchen has mouse crap all around, how do you propose to get rid of the mice?

No, no NO Americans, you just don't get it do you?

What commentator is talking about is a very real problem, not only in Australia but even more so in New Zealand. Both countries have an abundance of small mammal and flightless bird life.

Cats are singlehandedly making these creatures extinct. In fact cats are such a problem in NZ that they have gone to a few outlying islands and ensured that they are cat free and released some of these poor endangered creatures just to give them a chance of survival.

I agree with the OP - cats need to be kept under control and if not, shoot the bloody things. Rats and mice can easily be killed with poisons and traps, but our native fauna is unique, beautiful and irreplacable. So sorry kitty, stay in your backyard or look out!

Originally posted by TheCommentator
Don’t any of you see the extreme hypocrisy of what your all saying?
It’s wrong to kill animals unless you use a cat to do it.
So technically I can use a cat to kill your pet cats and you wouldn’t care

Thats throwing a variable in the situation that discredits any outcome. You. You can't use a cat as a tool like you can a dog. Hell we use dogs to sniff out drugs, chase human beings all by command. Thats why you leash dogs. Have you ever tried to leash a cat?

I just don't see how an extermination of cats is going to solve a problem. If cats need to go, nature will make them go.

I just don't think it's up to people to make these kinds of decisions. Thats like playing god on who should live or die when the animal is just living its life doing what needs to be done to survive as a species. Humans are no different, yet we don't go taking out certain humans. Its been tried before, not a good thing.

Originally posted by TheCommentator
Here is my reasoning, especially in a nation like Australia.
It is ok for cat owners to let their cats go out and kill native animals so why is it wrong to kill a cat to prevent them killing native animals?

Isn’t it the same logic?

Its not like I want this to be the case tho, I would much rather cat owners take responsibility and lock up their cats so to not damage their environment and threaten the extinction of native animals.

There is no reason for cats to be wandering the streets, the argument that ‘they are wild and use to wander around before humans’ is bunk because so did dogs but we can’t let them out can we?

But if cat owners will not take responsibility why can I not use the same logic they do and stop their cat from killing other animals.

I see your point and argument, and personally I think that all pet cats should be "indoor" cats. It's much safer for them and the neighborhood, especially if it's a residential one. However, some cats are feral ( wild/unsocialized ), have been undomisticated their entire lives, and the best thing that can be done is to neuter them amd let them roam free.
For "pet" cats, it's another story. They should be kept indoors and provided environments that are stimulating for them. They won't miss the roaming if they are provided with a non-boring indoor environment. That cats "need to roam" is a myth.
If the cat is a "working animal" and kept expressly to control vermin, etc., then they are kept for a specific purpose, but should still be neutered to prevent population explosion.

reply to post by TheCommentator


dont you guys get like a bunch of your crops eaten by non native mice every year...or at least every 4-6 and you wanna kill off the cats.....i think europe tried that and some kind of plauge showed up so good luck with that id keep them around so you dont have to count your dead mice by the tonne

put them in cages? what the..... let me gues your like 60ish old bird watching lady who woke up to the trauma of a cat eating your buggery gar(thats a bird right?)and now think cats should be restrained because you had to watch a portion of the food chain eat some other part of the food chain you thought was cute and some kind of treasure that the rest of nature considers a snack?far more distructive non native creatures in your country that effect alot more then cats do and while cats are on the list i think the others on this one www.feral.org.au... are far worse then the cats but to answer your original question i guess yes it would be legal if they have a population outside of human intervention

What is a feral animal? Strictly a feral animal is a non-native animal that has escaped from captivity and established a self-sustaining population independent of humans. Hence wild horses, pigs and cats are feral, while foxes and rabbits are not as these latter two animals were deliberately released to establish wild populations. However, the word is now generally applied to any non-native animal that causes serious damage to human interests, and is how the word is used in this web site.

so yeah unless you come accross a cat colony in the bush i would assume shooting peoples pet cats or cats you are unsure if they are owned or not and as i thought they took most of the australians guns over the years that it was pretty hard to get a gun yet alone use it out side of a range or what not(could be wrong on that) but i dont think you would score points with the local cops shooting cats with a shot gun(or other "hunting" arm) and for those that like to kill small animals (while not proven 100%) en.wikipedia.org... you wouldnt happen to buy your matches and rubber sheets in bulk would you? www.incasa.org... cats.about.com...

Originally posted by markosity1973
No, no NO Americans, you just don't get it do you?

What commentator is talking about is a very real problem, not only in Australia but even more so in New Zealand. Both countries have an abundance of small mammal and flightless bird life.

Cats are singlehandedly making these creatures extinct. In fact cats are such a problem than in NZ they have gone to a few outlying islands and ensured that they are cat free and released some of these poor endangered creatures just to give them a chance of survival.

I agree with the OP - cats need to be kept under control and if not, shoot the bloody things. Rats and mice can easily be killed with poisons and traps, but our native fauna is unique, beautiful and irreplacable. So sorry kitty, stay in your backyard or look out!

Well whos to say flightless bird life shouldn't evolve to fly or let nature take its course. Or evolve its self defenses. Just like we did?

Originally posted by markosity1973
No, no NO Americans, you just don't get it do you?

Despite popular belief, Americans are actually pretty smart.

I agree with the OP - cats need to be kept under control and if not, shoot the bloody things. Rats and mice can easily be killed with poisons and traps, but our native fauna is unique, beautiful and irreplacable. So sorry kitty, stay in your backyard or look out!

I prefer obeying the law. If you destroy my property, expect the police to be involved and expect charges filed.If my pet destroys your property, I would expect the same of you. Why? Because it's the law.

If I stepped on some of your fauna, would you break my windows? It's what you are proposing. Destruction of property in retaliation for damage to wild plant life....It's illegal, what you are proposing.

I do happen to agree that pets should be kept locked up though. But again, if you destroy my property, no matter your stance on the plant life, I promise you wont be getting away with it.

But then again, I am just an American who just wants to follow the law. What do I know?

Now, I've said all I can on this matter.

Agree with me or not. That is your right. Destroying private property in retaliation for damage to wildlife, is not.

Peace and love. Off to to the board again.

In that case of protecting important small species, cats should have to wear bells on breakaway collars, and people all around the country should be informed enough to make sure that cats are kept indoors. Especially at night. And the reasons why. And the importance of the reasons why.

They could also do a massive sterilization program, cheap or free, to make sure that people are spaying and neutering them.

There are fixes for this, other than shooting someones kitty!!

Even live traps, and then the cat goes to the shelter. People pay a fine to get kitty out, and then they start keeping the cat indoors more often.

NO It's not right! I am really angry with this thread

reply to post by gimme_some_truth

So, what if YOUR property (the one you keep whining about) destroys the property of we the people? i.e Your precious little kitty kills one of our native birds.....

Oh yeah, that's right it's illegal to kill native animals, they are protected. And guess what, if they actually find the animal that did it, it is impounded and destroyed and the owner is fined!

So you can whinge and whine about YOUR property all you want, but you are liable for the damage it may cause to a protected species or other people's property.

On a side note, feral cats are culled in New Zealand like other unwanted introduced and invasive species, they are not native and they have no right to be destroying what was there a long time before them. End of story.

Originally posted by snowspirit
In that case of protecting important small species, cats should have to wear bells on breakaway collars, and people all around the country should be informed enough to make sure that cats are kept indoors. Especially at night. And the reasons why. And the importance of the reasons why.

They could also do a massive sterilization program, cheap or free, to make sure that people are spaying and neutering them.

There are fixes for this, other than shooting someones kitty!!

Even live traps, and then the cat goes to the shelter. People pay a fine to get kitty out, and then they start keeping the cat indoors more often.

this is kinda how it already is in Australia... after a few weeks of no one picking up the cat its put down.

obviously its not enough there are still many stray cats running around i think thats why the OP has suggested such extreme methods. Still doesnt make it right i dont trust the average joe to have the right to kill a cat or any animal for that matter, most people the sick mostly have a habit of torturing animals before or even if they can be bothered killing it.

Here's my solution.

Ban all cat ownership in close proximity to sites of particular biodiversity.

I like cats.

I like them enough to believe its cruel to keep them in a home 24-7.

If there's an area where small mammals need to be protected...then don't let people keep cats

In breeding season on a certain reserve theres rules that I need to keep my dogs on a leash to protect ground nesting birds.

I comply.

If cats are such a threat then on specifically identified areas of biodiversity....they shouldn't be allowed.

In terms of cats coming on my property, I have he'd a few poops left now and again, by they're a small price to pay for a reduced rat population and some of the lovely purry rubs I get from neighbours cats.

If they wandered into my yard when the pups are out - its fully enclosed - then my dogs would kill them. I'd be devastated.

I hate cruelty.

Originally posted by berkeleygal
NO It's not right! I am really angry with this thread

edit on 16-2-2012 by berkeleygal because: (no reason given)

So why is it ok for your cat to kill other animals?

Originally posted by TheCommentator

Originally posted by berkeleygal
NO It's not right! I am really angry with this thread

edit on 16-2-2012 by berkeleygal because: (no reason given)

So why is it ok for your cat to kill other animals?

Do you eat any meat? Or are you vegan?

reply to post by choos

this is kinda how it already is in Australia... after a few weeks of no one picking up the cat its put down.

Still doesnt make it right i dont trust the average joe to have the right to kill a cat or any animal for that matter, most people the sick mostly have a habit of torturing animals before or even if they can be bothered killing it.

That right there is a huge problem. Here, the fines for animal abuse or neglect, can be up to 2 years in jail, or a $25,000 fine.

There are way too many sickos out there.

reply to post by snowspirit


Down here in Louisiana, after Katrina, and especially lately I've noticed a "feral" cat problem, but the local SPCA also has been picking up the stray cats and spaying/neutering them, I love this program they have in place down here! It is great they spay the cats then set them free right back where they found them ..... mostly, sometimes they will find a home for the cat.

Here is a cat that came up to me recently and started rubbing on me, being the fool that I am I fed her and took a few pic of her:

Notice how her left ear has been,"cut" or whatever you want to call it? That means she has been picked up spayed and released!

I have two cats they are indoor cats and have never been outside but, I would never be OK with someone shooting my cat if it got out!

I am amazed at the amount of people that think somehow one can control a cat.
I also like "Cats kill mice so its okay for us to kill cats" argument.

Listen closely you sociopaths. A lion killing a Gazelle is not the same thing as a Human killing a Lion because he killed the Gazelle. If I have to explain why then you really didn't think about it.