Legal Cat Hunting
Madison, Wisconsin (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 -
www.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."