I'm not a hunter, but does that mean I can kick one really hard if I'm in the Cheese state and not get ticketed for animal abuse?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=519&e=26&u=/ap/20050307/ap_on_re_us/hunting_cats

Wisc. Hunter Wants Open Season for Cats

Mon Mar 7, 1:49 PM ET U.S. National - AP



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."

thats ridiculous. animals don't know any better. I'd love to go and kill every ****ing person that is cruel to animals like that.

Shoot the owners of the animals, not the animals themselves. An animal doesn't know not to "trespass"

I thought this was going to be a joke about playing UNI in the tourney. :) This guys got too much time on his hands. If there is a stray animal on your property, and you live in town. Call animal control. If you live in the country, you shoot the bastard. Who the **** wants to hunt cats?

Cat hunting isn't legal? I don't know about you guys but I am out hunting for ***** just about every night. Oh yeah, gigidi gigidi

seriously, how hard is it to just scare a cat away? Most cats are skiddish as **** anyhow. Just take a couple steps toward it and it'll run. If I see anybody shoot a cat, I'll slit their throat.

Cat hunting isn't legal? I don't know about you guys but I am out hunting for ***** just about every night. Oh yeah, gigidi gigidi

AAHHAHAH yeah dude, but seriously yeah that ****s ****ed up people are just hicks and need more stuff to shoot and more nra meetings to go to,

:confused: Cat hunting , lmao ... I mean comon Why are people asking to hunt a damn cat lol , Whats gonna be next little children and dogs ?

That is ridicolous, I don't know what it is with some people, why it makes people feel big because they can hit a defenseless creature. A cat can't hit you back, and they aren't using the animal for meat, so what is the purpose. And yeah i'm into animal rights and ****, they are living things too, I don't want to sound like a hippie but christ, wtf is wrong with some people?

seriously, how hard is it to just scare a cat away? Most cats are skiddish as **** anyhow. Just take a couple steps toward it and it'll run. If I see anybody shoot a cat, I'll slit their throat.
amen to that man, If I see someone hurt an animal, they are going to be on the other end of my knife

I wouldn't be surprised if those ****ing redneck start making cat stew... Those ****ers eat roadkill, cat is an upgrade.

http://home.swiftdsl.com.au/~raza/freecat.jpg

I'll take a free cat!

Wisconsin Group Drops Cat-Killing Plan By ROBERT IMRIE, Associated Press Writer
Sat May 14, 3:45 AM ET

MANITOWOC, Wis. - A month after Gov. Jim Doyle said a plan to allow hunters to shoot stray cats was making Wisconsin a laughingstock, the public advisory group that raised the issue decided Friday to let it die.

"There is no need to push it any further," Wisconsin Conservation Congress chairman Steve Oestreicher said of a proposed change to allow licensed hunters to shoot feral cats that kill songbirds and other wildlife.

The proposal ignited a firestorm among animal rights groups that called it inhumane and dangerous — and raised the specter that hunters would shoot cats that had only wandered from their homes.

Still, 57 percent of those at the Conservation Congress' meetings in all 72 counties last month favored the idea, which supporters said would let people deal with nuisance stray cats.

Members of the Conservation Congress advise the state Natural Resources Board and the Department of Natural Resources, according to its Web site.

Delegates at the group's convention in Manitowoc voted Friday to recommend the change to the Natural Resources Board, but the group's executive committee decided against it. For the proposal to become law, it would need legislative approval and Doyle's signature.

"The governor has indicated he would never sign a bill," Oestreicher said. "It's time to let it go."

The La Crosse firefighter who proposed the idea, Mark Smith, complained the advisory group caved in to animal rights activists. But he said he won't pursue the issue.

"I think it is wrong that these activists hold such power as they do," he said in a telephone interview. "The politicians are all scared of them and lay down. I am one little guy who was looking to change something. It is not about animal cruelty, it is about individual landowner rights."

Jessica Frohman, a spokeswoman for a Maryland-based group called Alley Cat Allies, hailed the decision. "I think cat owners and pet owners are going to be just as happy," she said.

Some estimates indicate 2 million wild cats roam Wisconsin. South Dakota and Minnesota allow wild cats to be shot.





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Domestic cats are the biggest predator of natural birdlife around here. People pick 'em up, feed 'em for a few weeks or months, then just forget about them. They breed nearly as effectively as rabbits, can easily fend for themselves, and within a couple of years, 2 cats can become over a dozen.

The only solutions are sterilization, or extermination.