JoeyRamone 0 #1 April 13, 2005 Wis. Residents Seek Legalized Cat Hunting Wednesday April 13, 2005 12:31 PM BY RYAN J. FOLEY Associated Press Writer MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Feline lovers and some state lawmakers have their claws bared, ready to scratch out a wild cat hunting plan supported by state residents. The proposal would allow licensed hunters to kill free-roaming cats, including any domestic cat that isn't under the owner's direct control or any cat without a collar, just like skunks or gophers - something the Humane Society of the United States has described as cruel and archaic. Outdoor enthusiasts approved the proposal 6,830 to 5,201 at Monday's spring hearings of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, a citizens' advisory group. The results, released Tuesday by the state, get forwarded to the Natural Resources Board for its consideration. Ultimately, though, any measure would have to be passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jim Doyle. Already, two state senators - Scott Fitzgerald and Neil Kedzie - are promising they'll 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.'' ``I don't see a whole lot of momentum for it,'' Kedzie said. ``It's not the responsibility of the DNR to regulate cats.'' At least two other upper Midwestern states, South Dakota and Minnesota, allow wild cats to be shot - and have for decades. 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, the proposal has been met with fierce opposition from cat lovers such as Ted O'Donnell. O'Donnell, who gathered more than 17,000 signatures in an online petition to oppose the plan, was joined at Monday's meetings by scores of other animal lovers who held pictures of cats, clutched stuffed animals and wore whiskers. Even Karen Hale, the head of the Madison Audobon Society, one of the largest pro-bird groups in the country with 2,500 members, voted no. She said the proposal was just too controversial, even though wild cats have reduced the state's bird population. Kris Aaron, who has adopted six cats dumped near her farm, wants to control wild cats by reducing their numbers. She is starting a program in Jefferson County to trap, neuter and release stray cats. ``If you really care about our songbirds, if you want to see fewer stray, unloved cats,'' she said, ``let's work together to fix this problem.'' --- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rebecca 0 #2 April 13, 2005 And it's off! MADISON, Wis. - A proposal to legalize the killing of feral cats is not going to succeed, Gov. Jim Doyle said Wednesday. AP Photo Wisconsin Residents Support Feral Cat Hunting (AP Video) "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." you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' -- well do you, punk? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeyRamone 0 #3 April 13, 2005 I could not believe that was gonna fly.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rebecca 0 #4 April 13, 2005 I didn't either, but it's legal in SD and MN, so it could have... you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' -- well do you, punk? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
