Help the Cats
 

I wasn't sure exactly where to put this thread, but here goes. I found this article online today.

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Wis. Considers Legalizing Cat Hunting
http://apnews.excite.com/article/200...D89DRJO00.html
Apr 12, 8:06 AM (ET)
By The Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - 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."

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I am outraged by this. To read more on how to save the cats, and to sign the petition, go here:

http://www.dontshootthecat.com/

I signed the petition. I hope it does some good.

I signed also

Why would the state of Wisconsin listen to this petition?

I'm trying to figure out what good a petition serves if random people from outside the state who provide no benefit to the state are upset.

-Rudey

How is it being sponsored by someone outside of the state? Sure, La Crosse is on the border, but it's still in Wisconsin. If the cats are that big of a problem, then I guess it's good that they've found a solution. No one seems to be upset in the states that already allow this practice.

Given that the 2 people who posted after the initial post aren't from Wisconsin, I consider them from outside of the State.

-Rudey

Yes, I am from outside of Wisconsin. I signed the petition as did many others who don't live in Wisconson. Even though it may not mean as much as from a someone within the state, I still think outside opinions do help in decision-making to a certain extent. Most states do consider how they will look to outsiders before making decisons. I noticed from the petition posts, that many people will not visit the state or buy products from that state again if the bill passes. I personally won't say that but statements such as this may make the state think long and hard before passing the bill.

*Edited for typo.

You guys are going to stop buying cranberries, cheese and beer after this petition passes? Um, okay.

Like I said, I personally won't make that kind of statement. That would be just as stupid as shooting cats without collars.

Where else but my home state would you find out that we are trying to pass a bill so we can shot cats?


Got Love Wisconsin.

We can raise tution in the UW system but we cant balance our own state badget. Also we can start to pass a bill like this but we have to make cut backs in the high schools.

Like I said I love Wisconsin but we dont think about what is really right for the state at times

An Update
 

Wis. governor rejects cat-hunting idea
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...ck=1&cset=true
By Ryan J. Foley
Associated Press Writer
Published April 13, 2005, 12:47 PM CDT


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."

Do they make any good beer in Wisconsin?

UM DUH Milwaukee's Best!

Um, I said good beer???

I was waiting for that one!! :D