Who freaking CARES what New Zealand does? If they want to be morons in that
department, we nonetheless don't have to be.

I have read other articles about this whole thing, and that is the thing
which strikes me the most--that the genesis of this "hunt the cats" law
change proposal comes about as a result of irresponsible pet owners who are,
in fact, breaking the law themselves. I understand in the community where
this is being proposed, it is against the law to let your pets roam--and
this is exactly the reason why. The pets running loose--it creates these
types of problems. If the pet owners would hold up their end, none of this
would even be being proposed in the first place!

That is the underlying issue to me--particular pet owners are being
irresponsible and wrecking other people's lives, and the property owners are
finding a desire to take care of the issues. If this can be done by trapping
the animal, fine--but what if trapping is a tricky thing which requires a
lot more effort & time than simply shooting? That is the thing--it should
NOT be the responsibility of the property owner to keep invaders off their
property--they should have that RIGHT, but it isn't ultimately their
responsibility, it is the responsibility of the invader's owners to prevent
it to begin with. To then ask the property owners to go so far out of their
way, investing so much time & expense with how they rid their property of
the invaders--I say, that's wrong. If pet owners aren't going to hold up
their end, then whatever the property owners do to take care of the
problem--good enough. The property owners aren't the villians here, the
irresponsible pet owners are.

And please let it be noted--by no means are all pet owners like this. Many
have I seen before who are very responsible, and apologetic out the wazoo if
their pet trespasses onto someone else's yard and causes problems. They may
do things like--say, if the cat trespasses and gets paw prints all over
their neighbor's nice car, they may (say) give them a $20 gift certificate
good towards a local car wash, or offer to help (say) repair any damage to
bushes or trash cans. They TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for what their pets do,
rather than whine "what can I do about it" and "you better keep your hands
off my pet!"

If there were more such pet owners, then this proposal never would've seen
the light of day, people.

LRH

Yes, I am in US, and so is Mr. Harrison, not to mention the state of
Wisconsin.  I suppose that's why it's relevant here.  Not all comunities
have the same laws.  Some are city laws, but not county.  I know where I
live, *all* pets need to be leashed or confined in a fenced area - cats
included.  But people worry more about the dogs than cats, as cats are
usually less of a nuisance.  And in spite of the leash law, there is a
*managed* colony of feral cats here.  They are all spayed/neutered,
fed/watered twice daily, and shelters provided during inclement weather.
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