Posted By:
Citizen Premier
in spite of public outcry Apr 12, 2005
Don't go crazy over this story, but it looks like Wisconsin is considering legalizing cat-hunting. I presume people being bothered by cats coming onto their property is the driving factor. The article doesn't state if any special rules would be enacted to regulate cat hunting, or if it would be done just like the hunting of any other wildlife.
Proposing a bill like this just seems like asking for trouble. Yes, cats kill lots of local wildlife, but addressing the issue in this manner will just make pet owners paranoid and cat-hunters ostracized.
Maybe it's just a purposeful distraction bill, like when Bush tried to apply health insurance to pets.
(n.b.: Yahoo! is a cruddy news source. When San Diego was host to the Painted Lady migrations, Yahoo! News identified them as monarch butterflies. There may be important elements of the story left out.)
Just a random guy
in in a hospital, out of a long coma Member
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 | 04:30 PM
Just think of how traumatic it's going to be when the first kid goes outside in the front yard and catches a glimpse of his cat with a blown off head...
I guess I can understand how a large population of feral cats can be a problem. Not only do they kill birds, but they can carry rabies.
Apparently our small town had a problem with feral cats carrying rabies and infecting people's pets. This happened several years ago, before we moved here so I am getting this story from the locals, it could all be an urban legend for all I know. According to some of the local people the town had to resort to shooting the feral cats for the health and safety of the citizens.
Despite this though the town leaders also realize that a small feral population can be a good thing. This is a farming community with lots of grain available in fields and at the grain elevator, this grain attracts mice. The feral cats do help keep the mouse population down.
I hate to see them pass this kind of a bill. How will these "hunters" know which cats they can kill? Collars won't work, if you put a collar on a cat tight enough to keep them from slipping out of it (cats are very skilled at this) they could end up hanging themselves by the collar if they get caught on a fence or on a tree branch.
I think Wisconsin would be better off setting up have-a-heart traps and dealing with the cats this way. A warning could be posted well in advance so people could keep their pets indoors during the period of trapping.
The hunting of game animals serves a very important role to our society. If it weren't for the hunters controlling the populations of deer, we Americans wouldn't be able to drive a car 5 miles without smashing our "beloved" automobiles by running into one. Running into a deer with a car at speed causes considerable damage, Americans love their autos more than anything, yet even deer hunting still draws the ire of protestors. The flack created from even the suggestion of this will be great I'm sure. Not only will PETA and the like dissapprove but probably most pet owners as well. As for a way to handle a problem like this, I have no idea. It would seem too expensive to trap and euthanize a big number, but like someone else mentioned, allowing hunters to control the problem would surely create problems with pet owners. Who knows... but it will be interesting to see what, if anything, is actually done about this.
If the cats have become feral, obviously nobody is caring for them in the first place.
Th article says "Minnesota defines a wild, or feral, cat as one with no collar that does not show friendly behavior".
So basically, if you call "here kitty" and it doesn't come, and it's not wearing a collar, it's fair game.
Now, I understand that cats could be misidentified this way. There's a simple problem to that. Keep him either leashed or inside.
Well, in this case, you're either understanding of 'animal rights', or understanding of the problem the animals cause.
Being from a rural area, I understand that if this was allowed (which it is, if the animal is seen as a pest), I should not let my cat out if I'm worried about it. Likewise if I had a pet gopher or rabbit. Just because it has a collar is no assurance it will not get shot.
If the animals in the area have become a pest problem, and control measures are taken, it is the owner's responsibilty to take care of their animal, just like always.
If the animals are becoming enough of a pest that they are looking at killing them en masse, traps just are not economical, or practical.
I know, it's shitty, but it's also life. It's like weeding your garden and accidentally pulling a few carrots. It's gonna happen, it's acceptable losses. If you wanted the carrots protected that badly, you would either have to spend WAY more time, or move them indoors, out of the path of weed seeds. Do you see the parallel, I'm trying to show? It's kinda apples and oranges, but not entirely.
Molesting a baby? Never saw it that way. I think in it's avatar form the pic looks more like he smacked his thumb with a hammer, and it's throbbing a la Fred Flintstone.
Someone
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 | 12:47 PM
I think the idea of killing cats is just plain stupid... i mean are people actually gonna eat cat meat? or are they just gonna kill them for the fun it. And killing cats will probly make all the other wild cats aggressive and even more scared then they already are. Id hate the thought of my cat which lives outside and doesnt have a coller getting shot by some hunter for fun.
Funny, I can't see anything vaguely depicting a door - just knocking on wood...and I thought Jesus wasn't the superstitious type! Or maybe he's searching for the hollow panel which has the treasure behind it?
BTW, how distracting is Random Guy's avatar? I was just sitting there for 5 min just watching it...
OK... back now from the seizure that Random Guy's avatar caused...
As for the door Smerk... I kind of deduced a door because of the vertical planks and that they end somewhere behind his head and then what resembles maybe a wall goes on from there. That and the darker square there with the mesh / criss-cross wiring that would serve as an ancient "peep-hole." Are you seeing that? Maybe it's just the after effect of my seizure???
Yeah, it's possibly a door. The shadows are doing something funky too...It appears that his hand is lit from below? Ooh, hang on. It looks as though he may be holding a light in his left arm, which is why his right hand is casting a shadow to the top of the pic...crap, I'm analyzing this way too much.
Luckily I was never subjected to the thong photo... somehow though I think it might produce a much worse feeling than the dissappointment I felt at seeing yours Smerk!
I'm sure you've seen Rod's thong photo around - it's a pic of his foot in what you guys call a flip-flop.
I'm so sorry that I didn't live up to your expectations with regards to my thong photo. That's why I included that drawing of "Makri" when I did that post.
