Cat hunting in WI. I voted NO
04-15-2005, 10:33 PM
#21
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Bureau County Illinois
Posts: 605
RE: Cat hunting in WI. I voted NO
Doesn't take much effort for the farmer to tell you no hunting either. Actually, probably takes less effort.
In most states people will just shoot the cats because there is no law against it or they don't know that it is against the law. As far as not shooting a cat within 1 mile of a farmstead or buildings... Good god, around here you would have a hard time finding one of those place..Especially with all the grainstorage areas that farmers keep cats at to keep the rat populations down. Our barn cats are personally spayed and neutered so we don't get to many and ours probably don't wander more than 1/4 mile from the house. But they hunt our hay piles and do one heck of job during the winter cleaning out the barns of rats and stuff. Almost never see rodents or rodent sign on the 10 acre main sight. Also almost never see my cats with any bird other than a Starling, another invasive non native species. The Starling population isn't hurting so the falcons are doing just fine.
Don't live in Wisconsin but I know way to many people who get their kicks off of killing cats. I will never understand it. I hear the same arguments around here that it is the cats killing everything from pheasants to foxes (Killing the prey) to the hawks not having enough. Than, 3 days later the same person is blaming the hawks for killing all the pheasants and than come winter you have to kill all the coyotes for the same reason...You almost want to say to them "well, which one is it? Is it all the hawks, all the coyotes, the foxes, the owls or the cats?" They don't want to hear that one of the very real reasons game bird populations are down around here is becasue instead of having 40 and 80 acre fields with fence and hedgle lines all over the place the fields are now 320-640 acres with no fences, no hedgelines and no brushpiles laying around. We added a bunch of fence around our ground and in the meantime had to doze out some scrub trees. People kept asking when we were going to burn the piles and the simple answer is never. Our rabbit and bobwhite and pheasant (A non native animal that competes with the native Bobwite for food and shelter.) populations have exploded in the past 4 years on the gournd surronind these brush piles. Even neighbors comment on it while they drive by and wonder if we are planting food or something for them. Habitat is everything.
I should add that our feral cat population around here is very, very low and most people I talk to around here see the same thing. It seems to be the town folks who think the cat populations are out of control in the country while the farmers who are out in the fields don't see many at all. In fact, a lot are havng problems keeping their cats alive because of the coyotes and cats #1 predator, semi's.
In most states people will just shoot the cats because there is no law against it or they don't know that it is against the law. As far as not shooting a cat within 1 mile of a farmstead or buildings... Good god, around here you would have a hard time finding one of those place..Especially with all the grainstorage areas that farmers keep cats at to keep the rat populations down. Our barn cats are personally spayed and neutered so we don't get to many and ours probably don't wander more than 1/4 mile from the house. But they hunt our hay piles and do one heck of job during the winter cleaning out the barns of rats and stuff. Almost never see rodents or rodent sign on the 10 acre main sight. Also almost never see my cats with any bird other than a Starling, another invasive non native species. The Starling population isn't hurting so the falcons are doing just fine.
Don't live in Wisconsin but I know way to many people who get their kicks off of killing cats. I will never understand it. I hear the same arguments around here that it is the cats killing everything from pheasants to foxes (Killing the prey) to the hawks not having enough. Than, 3 days later the same person is blaming the hawks for killing all the pheasants and than come winter you have to kill all the coyotes for the same reason...You almost want to say to them "well, which one is it? Is it all the hawks, all the coyotes, the foxes, the owls or the cats?" They don't want to hear that one of the very real reasons game bird populations are down around here is becasue instead of having 40 and 80 acre fields with fence and hedgle lines all over the place the fields are now 320-640 acres with no fences, no hedgelines and no brushpiles laying around. We added a bunch of fence around our ground and in the meantime had to doze out some scrub trees. People kept asking when we were going to burn the piles and the simple answer is never. Our rabbit and bobwhite and pheasant (A non native animal that competes with the native Bobwite for food and shelter.) populations have exploded in the past 4 years on the gournd surronind these brush piles. Even neighbors comment on it while they drive by and wonder if we are planting food or something for them. Habitat is everything.
I should add that our feral cat population around here is very, very low and most people I talk to around here see the same thing. It seems to be the town folks who think the cat populations are out of control in the country while the farmers who are out in the fields don't see many at all. In fact, a lot are havng problems keeping their cats alive because of the coyotes and cats #1 predator, semi's.
04-15-2005, 10:37 PM
#22
Typical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: West Central IL
Posts: 904
RE: Cat hunting in WI. I voted NO
This shouldnt even be considered a topic, the fact of the matter is simple, if the cat is wild and hurting OUR game species, then what harm does it do to kill them, it is absolutely nothing different from killing a coyote. If the cat is wild, then what good of a pet is it? If you can determine if its a pet cat...i.e. a collar around its neck, then obviously anyone in their right mind would shoot it. For all of you defending these wild cats, you must not have thought it through. It is your own fault if you throw a cat out in the wild and hope it kills mice, of course, everyone knows that that cat will become wild. It would be different if you had a collar on the cats neck and kept it close to home by food and water daily.
If your cat is in a barn and close to your house, then how would it get killed?
Fact of the matter is simple.....Wild cats are just as bad as coyotes (notice how i said WILD CATS....and not cats in general.) You are all thinking of just cats in general.......its the wild cats that are causing problems, not your pet.
Interesting?? But I have never seen hawks, owls, foxes, bobcats, coyotes, coons, etc. in my barn helping control the rodents.
Fact of the matter is simple.....Wild cats are just as bad as coyotes (notice how i said WILD CATS....and not cats in general.) You are all thinking of just cats in general.......its the wild cats that are causing problems, not your pet.
04-16-2005, 07:18 AM
#23
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: stuart, iowa,usa
Posts: 280
RE: Cat hunting in WI. I voted NO
what wisconsin is trying to do, isn't starting a "cat hunting" season, but to put feral (wild) cats on the unprotected list. meaning that a cat is the same as a skunk, rat, or sparrow. if you see one, and want to shoot it, go right ahead.
i read a report a few years ago that feral cats kill more pheasants than pheasant hunters do. since then, i have considered it "open season". if a cat is legal shooting distance from any farm buildings, then it gets shot.
if it is a family pet, then it should be kept on the farm, or in the house. if its out in a field, or road ditch, its a danger to non-game and game speicies alike, and should be stopped.
the feral cat is a disease on wild life, wisconsin has the right idea, but are going about it all wrong. it is an issue that should be handled by the DNR, not debated and voted on by the public.
i read a report a few years ago that feral cats kill more pheasants than pheasant hunters do. since then, i have considered it "open season". if a cat is legal shooting distance from any farm buildings, then it gets shot.
if it is a family pet, then it should be kept on the farm, or in the house. if its out in a field, or road ditch, its a danger to non-game and game speicies alike, and should be stopped.
the feral cat is a disease on wild life, wisconsin has the right idea, but are going about it all wrong. it is an issue that should be handled by the DNR, not debated and voted on by the public.
04-18-2005, 06:51 AM
#24
Typical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Central Michigan
Posts: 982
RE: Cat hunting in WI. I voted NO
Truk
Your pets and farm cats belong in the house or barn, if they are not there they are doing damage. How would you like it if you were watching a nice 10 point and right before hunting season I let my dogs out every night to wander my woods and they killed it. Would you be happy or would you think that they should be shot wheater they were on my property or not?
If you care for your pets and the wildlife you should take care of your pets.
Your pets and farm cats belong in the house or barn, if they are not there they are doing damage. How would you like it if you were watching a nice 10 point and right before hunting season I let my dogs out every night to wander my woods and they killed it. Would you be happy or would you think that they should be shot wheater they were on my property or not?
If you care for your pets and the wildlife you should take care of your pets.
04-18-2005, 10:53 AM
#26
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Pike Co., IL
Posts: 138
RE: Cat hunting in WI. I voted NO
Even a cat that is well fed will try to kill something. My house cat, who is on full feed, still stalks and tries to catch birds when he goes out in the yard. If someone caught him killing a game species, then by all means, let him have it.
04-18-2005, 11:39 AM
#27
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location:
Posts: 81
RE: Cat hunting in WI. I voted NO
if it was your dog on your property,you could do whatever you wanted, my cats on my property and you are either an invited guest or tresspasser you dont shoot my cats, if ya do, then you dont hunt here again and i would press whatever charges i could, i have been lenient with tresspassers in the past and probably will continue to be,but if they are shooting non-game animals , its a different story.
04-20-2005, 12:16 AM
#29
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location:
Posts: 81
RE: Cat hunting in WI. I voted NO
i dont have a problem with that, whoever owns the property makes the rules. Maybe the law should include human tresspassers, a rapidly increasing population that needs to be brought under controll.
04-20-2005, 01:42 AM
#30
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Manning, Iowa
Posts: 307
RE: Cat hunting in WI. I voted NO
I don't know for sure but I would think as the cats are not native or protected you could shot them with out any regulations on them at all. I remember reading about some feral hogs near I80 in Iowa I think in Clarke County. They interviewed a DNR Official that stated that since they are not reconized as wildlife by the state code there was no regulations about hunting them. Same goes for the Mountain Lion as I understand.
I would have to agree with shooting wild cats. I would also have to say that cats that are not near buildings should be considered wild cats. My girlfriend's parents have cats on the farm and they feed them which for the most part keeps them around. Now they have had a couple of cats just appear and start coming up for food. they tend to roam a little further out than the more tame ones but when they are called for feeding time, they don't come from that far away. Now do you think they stay close at night? I don't, at night they roam out into the road ditch and fields hunting, cats seem to be more acitve at night.
I would have to agree with shooting wild cats. I would also have to say that cats that are not near buildings should be considered wild cats. My girlfriend's parents have cats on the farm and they feed them which for the most part keeps them around. Now they have had a couple of cats just appear and start coming up for food. they tend to roam a little further out than the more tame ones but when they are called for feeding time, they don't come from that far away. Now do you think they stay close at night? I don't, at night they roam out into the road ditch and fields hunting, cats seem to be more acitve at night.