would you shoot a coyote in hunting season ?
04-25-2005, 03:39 PM
#81
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 3,903
RE: would you shoot a coyote in hunting season ?
BOWFANATIC - curious .............. would you, or did you, fight to protect trapping rights ? Did you fight the battle on cougar hunting ? Spring bear hunting ? Bear baiting ? Dove hunting ?
Exactly why I'm standing up now! All the above have been attacked , and continue to be attacked. We have non hunters on our side now. I dont want to lose that!!!
Or did you lay down each time and say " well, its making us look bad to try and hunt XXX animals, so we'd better just not fight the battle "
All the above animals you've mentioned were always considered a wild animal and a hunted species. Unlike the cat.
I get the feeling from your posts that you truly don't believe there is a feral cat problem across the country, and you base this on your observations on your land.
I guess? Only because they tell me "their a problem" and "they need to be killed". I haven't witnessed enough "feral cats" causing problems myself , to even consider making this an issue , let alone a hunting issue. But , just because it's not rampant in my corner of the world , doesn't mean it's not real.
By NOT getting involved in a JUST cause that will make for a better and balanced eco system, only makes hunters look like they don't care about conservation. It gives the anti's more ammunition in the future. How can we preach about healthy deer herds and the need for extra tags or extended seasons so more does can be killed in order to prevent over poulations when we just ignore the feral cat problem.
Here is how I believe the cat issue should be handled , if you have a problem in your area.
It should be a landowner issue! Period. It doesn't point fingers at hunters and for the farmers/landowners who have issues with feral cats , allow them to remove/kill them as they see fit.
It should be a landowner issue! Period. It doesn't point fingers at hunters and for the farmers/landowners who have issues with feral cats , allow them to remove/kill them as they see fit.
The anti's will have a field day with that, I can just hear them now....." hunters don't care, you just want to be able to kill more deer to satisfy your thirst for blood." "If you, as you say, do everything in the name of conservation, where were you on the feral cat problem?"
And you dont honestly believe ANYONE , especially an anti hunter , is going to ask hunters "where were we on the cat issue?" Like they want us to kill more cats to balance the eco system?They dont want us to kill wild animals to balance the system , let alone a domesticated animal.
I don't think we have the luxury to pick and choose our battles, we need to address everyone of them as they surface or risk looking like a bunch of inconsistant and selfish group of killers who really don't care about conservation but hide behind it in order to kill more deer.
There's a feral cat problem? Allow each individual landowner to solve the problem how they see fit.
04-25-2005, 04:18 PM
#82
Site Bouncer
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Illinois
Posts: 4,099
RE: would you shoot a coyote in hunting season ?
Your absolutely right , "we dont have the luxury to pick and choose our battles! Because their constantly attacking us from all sides , we have to stand up and fight to keep our rights! Do you understand where I'm coming from? Shooting feral cats is NOT a right we have to stand up and defend.
There's a feral cat problem? Allow each individual landowner to solve the problem how they see fit.
There's a feral cat problem? Allow each individual landowner to solve the problem how they see fit.
Yeah, I understand where you're comming from, and I can see your concern. This may be such a fine line that perhaps most won't see the connection it does have to hunting. I still don't think hunters shoud ignore this completely but this may not be the topic to be in the forefront on. Maybe just to show support for the cause but not take an active role. Fair?
04-25-2005, 09:29 PM
#84
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 3,903
RE: would you shoot a coyote in hunting season ?
BOWFANATIC,
Yeah, I understand where you're comming from, and I can see your concern. This may be such a fine line that perhaps most won't see the connection it does have to hunting. I still don't think hunters shoud ignore this completely but this may not be the topic to be in the forefront on. Maybe just to show support for the cause but not take an active role. Fair?
Yeah, I understand where you're comming from, and I can see your concern. This may be such a fine line that perhaps most won't see the connection it does have to hunting. I still don't think hunters shoud ignore this completely but this may not be the topic to be in the forefront on. Maybe just to show support for the cause but not take an active role. Fair?
04-25-2005, 10:53 PM
#85
Site Bouncer
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Illinois
Posts: 4,099
RE: would you shoot a coyote in hunting season ?
Absolutely fair! If it were done right , and each states dep't of natural resources stepped forward and said... "we're going to give landowners the right to kill or remove feral cats from their property" , then hunters wouldn't be at the forefront of this problem. Would hunters do their part in cooperating with landowners to remove feral cats? More than likely. But the attention would be focused on the issue (feral cats are a problem) , and the course of action (landowners being allowed to kill them) , and not focused on "hunters wanting to kill feral cats".
I guess I agreed with you all along I just didn't know it. I do know that hunters demanding to shoot cats dead on the spot is not the way to win over John Q Public and I would never condone such behavior. So I got to thinking "what would I do" and that is when I wrote my last post. I would hopefully get the states deptartment of natural resources (like you said) or any other department with authority to step up and do something about it by allowing land owners to dispatch feral cats without the threat of legal or civil action taken against them. I would also like to see more animal control officers (if possible) or at least the ones employed now take a more aggressive stance in eliminating this problem especially in areas (city limits) where home owners can't do it themselves.
Then we as hunters should support this 100% and try to educate those who don't know why it needs to be done every chance we get. I think you were trying to say this all along, you just threw me when you said "it should be a land owner issue peroid". and it wasn't until your last post that you said "If it were done right , and each states dep't of natural resources stepped forward and said... "we're going to give landowners the right to kill or remove feral cats from their property" that I understood where you were going with your thought process.
It's a big difference, because most of the farmers and land owners I know kill feral cats now but until a proper authority says it's ok and it needs to be done, the three S method in performed.
In a nut shell you are correct....sorta
but your still wrong about the crossbow thing
04-26-2005, 07:00 AM
#86
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location:
Posts: 2,678
RE: would you shoot a coyote in hunting season ?
We have non hunters on our side now.
So, you really think non hunters are on our sides ? Think again. When game management issues go to the public vote, hunters always lose.
04-26-2005, 04:04 PM
#87
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 3,903
RE: would you shoot a coyote in hunting season ?
Ooops! Better rephrase that for Datamax...
Currently , non hunters , who think PETA and anti hunters are extremists , are not our enemy! Again , currently!
I'll back away from this post now as I think I've made my point , and I'll let Datamax get the last word , because you know he has to.
Currently , non hunters , who think PETA and anti hunters are extremists , are not our enemy! Again , currently!
I'll back away from this post now as I think I've made my point , and I'll let Datamax get the last word , because you know he has to.
