Wabbit Season? No, it's Cat Season!

[Unassisted]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...p/hunting_cats

Wisc. Hunter Wants Open Season for Cats
MADISON, Wis. - Hunter Mark Smith welcomes wild birds on to his property, but if he sees a cat, he thinks the "invasive" animal should be considered fair game.

The 48-year-old firefighter from La Crosse has proposed that hunters in Wisconsin make free-roaming domestic cats an "unprotected species" that could be shot at will by anyone with a small-game license.

His proposal will be placed before hunters on April 11 at the Wisconsin Conservation Congress spring hearings in each of the state's 72 counties.

"I get up in the morning and if there's new snow, there's cat tracks under my bird feeder ... I look at them as an invasive species, plain and simple," Smith said.

Smith's proposal has horrified cat lovers, but is seen by others as a way to stop cats from killing wild birds.

University of Wisconsin-Madison wildlife ecology professor Stanley Temple, who trapped more than 100 cats and analyzed their stomach contents during a four-year study, has estimated that between 7.8 million and 219 million birds are killed by rural cats in Wisconsin each year.

"It's obviously a very controversial proposal," Temple said, but added, "I think there really is a basis for having a debate about it."

The Conservation Congress is a five-member elected body whose duty is to advise the Department of Natural Resources and the Legislature on natural resources issues.

DNR attorney Tim Andryk said the vote would simply be "an advisory recommendation" to state lawmakers.

"We (the DNR) don't have authority to regulate domestic animals. Legislation would have to be passed to accomplish this," Andryk said. "You might also have to amend laws relating to abuse of domestic animals."

But Temple said he thinks legislation is not needed. He said the department does have the authority to declare rural cats an unprotected species — because unclaimed cats can be considered nonnative wildlife species like house mice, Norway rats, pigeons and starlings.

"If they are not a pet, if somebody doesn't claim ownership, they become a nonnative wildlife species and not entitled to protection by the state," he said.

Cat enthusiasts Cheryl Balazs, Ted O'Donnell and Adam Bauknecht are trying to organize opposition to Smith's proposal. O'Donnell, a co-owner of MadCat Pet Supplies, recently set up a Web site, dontshootthecat.com, to inform people about it.

O'Donnell said Smith's proposal "is a callous response" to the problem of cats preying on wild birds.

"There's more humane solutions," he said. "We as citizens should step up and solve the problem humanely."

Sheri Carr, senior humane officer at the Dane County Humane Society, said the group has not yet taken a position on the proposal, but wants cat owners to abide by their local ordinances and not let their animals roam.

"I would hate to think that tame, owned cats who happen to slip out would be at risk of being deemed a wild, unprotected species," Carr said. "It's a delicate (ecological) balance out there, but does that mean people should be able to shoot their neighbor's cat? Probably not."

[KronoRed]

Only if the cats can shoot back

[Redsland]

Only if the cats can shoot back

Apparently, they can.

-------------------------

Cat Shoots Owner

BATES TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- A man cooking in his kitchen was shot after one of his cats knocked his 9mm handgun onto the floor, discharging the weapon, Michigan State Police said.

Joseph Stanton, 29, of Bates Township in Iron County, was shot in his lower torso around 6 p.m. Tuesday, the state police post in Iron River reported. He was transported to Iron County Community Hospital.

Michelle Sand, a spokeswoman at the Iron River hospital, said Stanton was treated there before being transferred to Marquette General Hospital for further treatment. But Marcie Miller, a representative of the Marquette facility, said there was no record of the hospital receiving a patient by that name.

A telephone message seeking comment was left Wednesday at Stanton's home.

State police said he was cooking at his stove when the cat knocked the loaded gun off the kitchen counter behind him.

© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[RedFanAlways1966]

Cat Shoots Owner

State police said he was cooking at his stove when the cat knocked the loaded gun off the kitchen counter behind him.

The police should have done a thorough search for something illegal in dummy's house. Or is it normal to have loaded 9mm guns laying around the house and on the kitchen counter? Got to wonder about the activities of a 29-year-old man who keeps a loaded 9mm on his counter. Hope dummy never has kids.

[TC81190]

Dude..

[BoydsOfSummer]

I used to hate cats. I recently took a stray kitten in that wandered to my door. She has stolen my heart. Can't figger out how to put her pic on this.

[KittyDuran]

I used to hate cats. I recently took a stray kitten in that wandered to my door. She has stolen my heart. Can't figger out how to put her pic on this.

Same here - getting her fixed next Wednesday...

[westofyou]

Cats rule when they are your cats... otherwise a banging pan will keep them out of your yard.

Some people are kinda zealous about their views but come on.

[GAC]

Not that I agree with this individual, but if I were a dog I'd be screaming discrimination!

Why are there such strict laws governing dog ownership, and their ability to roam around, yet nothing on cats?

I've lived next two two families that were cat lovers. If they love cats, I have no problem with that. But what I did hate was them lying on the hood of my car and scratching it up, tearing up the mulch/landscaping around my house, going after the birds in our bird feeder, and leaving their half-eaten prey in my backyard. I've had alot more problem with people's cats then I have dogs.

But that's nothing that a burlap bag and a nice ride in the country can't cure. :mhcky21:

[Spring~Fields]

Not that I agree with this individual, but if I were a dog I'd be screaming discrimination!

Why are there such strict laws governing dog ownership, and their ability to roam around, yet nothing on cats?

I've lived next two two families that were cat lovers. If they love cats, I have no problem with that. But what I did hate was them lying on the hood of my car and scratching it up, tearing up the mulch/landscaping around my house, going after the birds in our bird feeder, and leaving their half-eaten prey in my backyard. I've had alot more problem with people's cats then I have dogs.

But that's nothing that a burlap bag and a nice ride in the country can't cure. :mhcky21:

Get you a couple of coyotes they love cat and small animals according to what I was just reading today.

[RedFanAlways1966]

Smith's proposal has horrified cat lovers, but is seen by others as a way to stop cats from killing wild birds.

Has this dummy in Wisconsin ever heard of the law of nature? You would think he has since he seems to run his own wildlife sanctuary. I shiver to think of what one nut-job mouse lover will want to do to cats. Then we will hear about the nut-job cat-lover who wants to shoot any dog that puts a single paw on their property. Then we will hear about the nut-job kid-hater who will want to shoot those junior-high kids who cut through his yard on the way home from school. Have I missed any nut-jobs?

A stupid idea proposed by an overzealous cat-hater. Law of nature...

[GAC]

Has this dummy in Wisconsin ever heard of the law of nature? You would think he has since he seems to run his own wildlife sanctuary. I shiver to think of what one nut-job mouse lover will want to do to cats. Then we will hear about the nut-job cat-lover who wants to shoot any dog that puts a single paw on their property. Then we will hear about the nut-job kid-hater who will want to shoot those junior-high kids who cut through his yard on the way home from school. Have I missed any nut-jobs?

We'll let you know nut job! (just kiddin' there buddy)

[RedFanAlways1966]

We'll let you know nut job! (just kiddin' there buddy)

You must know my family... have they been talkin' about me again, GAC?!!? Don't believe 'em... as if my own family would know me!

[Steve4192]

A stupid idea proposed by an overzealous cat-hater. Law of nature...

Aren't humans at the top of the food chain?

If so, your 'law of nature' argument says he can kill all the kittens (or any other animal) he wants.

[REDREAD]

Has this dummy in Wisconsin ever heard of the law of nature?

His point though, is that they are a non-indiginous species.. Like the zebra mollusks (or whatever they are) in the great lakes. Like Kudzu, they are pretty much a weed that is spreading uncontrolled and killing the native species.

I actually agree with the guy to a point. I don't want anyone's pet killed, but all these feral cats that just roam the countryside need to be killed.

In the first neighborhood we lived in, you'd come out the door, and 3-4 cats would jump out and from the shrubs and run away.. They'd destroy our property. It was a major aggravation. The sad thing is that supposedly they were someone's pets, but the darn things stayed outside 24/7. I guess they went home to eat, but that's it. Is that really a pet?