Wis. Considers Legalizing Cat Hunting
Tue Apr 12, 8:06 AM ET U.S. National - AP

By The Associated Press

MADISON, Wis - 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."


Haha this is hilarious.. I probably shouldn't make too much fun, though, because Illinois will probably be next.

Rob





Sold 2/2/05

haha, we were just talking about this today in class!

My GF did a whole speech on this last week





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Its already legal in Minnesota.


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im not letting my cat near any of u weirdo's

I threatenbed the life of my friends cat today.


 
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im going to set one thing straight about this, since i know the guy who made the proposition to the Wisconsin legislation regarding this whole fiasco.

that story is complete and utter bullsh*t. that is not the proposition that was given to the legislation. the guy that proposed the idea only said that he wanted the governement to properly define what a feral cat is. in other words, just because your neighbor's cat fluffy walks onto your property, it doesn't give you the right to just shoot it. however, if a stray cat with no collar or tags comes, then the owner of the land has the right to shoot it if they so choose (i.e. if it is killing chickens, etc). right now there is no clear definition of what a feral cat is, and that's all he wanted to get done. once the government defines exactly what a feral cat is, then they will be considered legal game. that does not include your neighbor's pet.

when he first made the proposition, out of all the people there who voted on wether it should pass to legislation, only 1 person objected out of (i don't remember the exact number) 30+ people who voted. that's an outstanding number. once the press got wind of the story however, they put their own little spin on the story, which made it sound like he wanted all cats hunted, no matter what.

he's even gotten death threats because of those stories that the newspapers have printed, because people don't know the actual story... they only know what the newspapers printed, which in this case, isn't the truth.

So I have to take the tags off my friends cat before i shoot it...?


 
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Mommy, where's Fluffy?




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On the neighbors table... its dinner time... Mwahaha


 
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typical media f_ckin morons, but i agree totally with it all, if you cant keep control of your pets dont have them
here kitty kitty



04 sunfire auto, mid 15's n/a, and still going

it's not so much a matter of keeping your pets from wandering over to the neighbor's place... it's more along the lines of cats that don't have an owner anymore, that are wild and not just wandering around.

i believe the situation came up because he kept finding wild cats in traps that he had set up, and it was illegal for him to kill them, so the cats had to stay injured rather than be killed. why let the cats suffer?

anothe note, this isn't really aimed towards city/suburban areas either... this is more for those people who live out in the country, like farmers and whatnot where there really are wild cats roaming around causing trouble.

meow

why only cats and not dogs?

cannon fodder wrote:it's not so much a matter of keeping your pets from wandering over to the neighbor's place... it's more along the lines of cats that don't have an owner anymore, that are wild and not just wandering around.

i believe the situation came up because he kept finding wild cats in traps that he had set up, and it was illegal for him to kill them, so the cats had to stay injured rather than be killed. why let the cats suffer?

anothe note, this isn't really aimed towards city/suburban areas either... this is more for those people who live out in the country, like farmers and whatnot where there really are wild cats roaming around causing trouble.

very good point on the suffering pussy's



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Wis. Governor Rejects Cat-Hunting Idea

BY RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press Writer

MADISON, Wis. - A proposal to legalize the killing of feral cats is not going to succeed, Gov. Jim Doyle said Wednesday.

"I don't think Wisconsin should become known as a state where we shoot cats," said Doyle, a Democrat who neither hunts nor owns a cat. "What it does is sort of hold us up as a state that everybody is kind of laughing at right now."

He told reporters his office had received calls from around the country denouncing a proposal adopted Monday at meetings of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, a public advisory group, that would classify wild, free-roaming cats as an unprotected species that kills song birds and other wildlife.

Outdoor enthusiasts approved the proposal 6,830 to 5,201 at Monday's spring hearings of the group.

The results get forwarded to the state Natural Resources Board for consideration, but any official action would have to be passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor.

Animal rights groups belittled the idea as inhumane and dangerous.

Doyle said he respects the Conservation Congress but "on this one I think everybody recognizes it's not going anywhere."

Some experts estimate that 2 million wild cats roam Wisconsin, and the state says studies show feral cats kill 47 million to 139 million songbirds a year.

South Dakota and Minnesota both allow wild cats to be shot.

Two state senators — Scott Fitzgerald and Neil Kedzie — had promised to do everything they can to keep the plan from becoming law.

Kedzie, who chairs the Natural Resources and Transportation Committee, called the issue "a distraction from the main tasks we have at hand."

Are skunks, raccoons, little birds and such legal to shoot? Or only if they cause problems? Just wondering. But I think if they do this for cats, they should do it for dogs too, what's the difference?


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