Animal groups: Could ruling lead to hunters shooting cats?

[street_lyte]

Actually that didn't answer it at all. I've got 2 cats that until recently were allowed to go in and out as they pleased. Neither wore collars. And they liked to wander in the woods. I'm pretty sure that it's not that uncommon in rural areas.

Then your cat has an outside chance of being shot. O well....

Welcome to the reality of nothing being perfect.

That still doesn't come close to the logistical task that is running a large-scale cat round-up operation.

Why do people have a problem with this?

Police have been called many times to hunt over-populated deer with a shoot-on-sight policy...and nobody cared.

Is it because they're cute and stuff?

[Seabee1973]

A cat in the middle of the woods or out in a christmas tree field with no collar or id tag.

Next question.

If it dont have a collar its fair game

[TheGoodBits]

Police have been called many times to hunt over-populated deer with a shoot-on-sight policy...and nobody cared.

Is it because they're cute and stuff?

Because deer aren't pets?

and seebee I call bull****. If you had a pet get out and it got shot you would be pissed.

The only time feral cats are a big problem are when there are large numbers of them in one place. This also makes it fairly easy to round them up without just shooting them all.

[The Brave Little Toaster Oven]

Because deer aren't pets?

neither are feral cats :whoknows:

[EBoz]

Because deer aren't pets?

Neither are feral cats.

[The Brave Little Toaster Oven]

[HighOnHendrix]

As far as this ruling goes, great. Where can I sign up? I need some target practice!

"Watch out! They're coming right for us!"

[TheGoodBits]

neither are feral cats :whoknows:

Neither are feral cats.

lol

Cats are pets in most circumstances in western culture. Deer are almost never pets. You know what I meant and the point I was making, quit playing stupid.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

There's a difference between hunting and just shooting **** to shoot it. This would be the latter and that's pretty sick imo.

[street_lyte]

There's a difference between hunting and just shooting **** to shoot it. This would be the latter and that's pretty sick imo.

"When a cat is left to roam outside the house it becomes a character who kills birds and small mammals -- rabbits, chipmunks,'' she said on Thursday. "It's really not a natural, native animal. They are exotic and not meant to be outdoors.

This is more of a population-control fueled proposal than anything.

Also, you really think this is "pretty sick?" If I went cat hunting for fun, I would be "pretty sick?"

What is a rapist then? The devil himself?

I'm just trying to keep it relative. I wouldn't shoot cats for fun, but if someone did I would think they have issues, not "sick."

I just don't see the big deal here... :whoknows:

[No_Pressure]

I won't say who this is but I know a person, he isn't related to me or anything but I know this guy well. Anyway, his wife was feeding these feral cats from time to time and they kept coming around the area, killing all the smaller animals and creating unsanitary conditions. One day the guy had it, and since he's pretty much out in the country in the middle of nowhere, he took his small bore .22 rifle out and sniped about 14 cats. He buried them somewhere off in the woods.

Now I know he's a good hunter, I'm sure the cats didn't suffer because he's an excellent shot. Even if the cats did suffer it ended quickly...perhaps quicker than a disease or starvation once they hunted too much in the wild and ran out of prey. Perhaps less stress on the animal than being captured and carted off to an animal shelter to be put to death. I happen to know for a fact that many of the cats he shot were in fact diseased and he likely kept them from weeks of misery and a slow, painful death. I'm not against that.

Either way, why is it humane for us to thin the populations of wild deer through seasonal hunting, but for wild cats they need to be taken to an animal shelter? As far as I see it, these are not your pets. These are wild animals that would have very little in common with any pet cat most of us own. I don't think we're about to trap wild squirrels, rabbits, or deer and take them to the animal shelter for a "humane" death. We should probably stop pretending that wild cats are much different.

[mmzznnxx]

You can say it's a population control based proposal all you want, however if anyone actually cared about population control people would be spaying and neutering and eventually the population would be in perfect control, but we know that will never happen. It's much easier, much more fun, and empowering to shoot something that moves.

I can just see all the people who would go crazy and shooting every cat they see just because they could. I've got enough worries without having to make sure I keep my cats inside lest a bullet come out of nowhere and make spaying and neutering the cat utterly useless. I know there are tons who think you're out of touch or in the wrong if you don't see animals and their lives as "trivial" (as another poster put it) but I don't know how someone could justify killing (even an animal) unless it was for survival, food, or both, possibly.

Furthermore I don't even know how hunting is a sport. Soccer's a sport; you run around nonstop making athletic plays on a ball with other people trying to steal it from you. It doesn't take much athleticism to sit, put deer urine on yourself and line up a shot on an unsuspecting animal. Now if you tried to take down an animal with your bare hands, or maybe a knife, I'd give it up for that, that would be quite a feat.

[HighOnHendrix]

I'm just trying to keep it relative. I wouldn't shoot cats for fun, but if someone did I would think they have issues, not "sick."

That's just semantics.

[street_lyte]

That's just semantics.

You're probably right, it's just that in context it sounds like it would be some highly despicable act.

You can say it's a population control based proposal all you want, however if anyone actually cared about population control people would be spaying and neutering and eventually the population would be in perfect control, but we know that will never happen. It's much easier, much more fun, and empowering to shoot something that moves.

I can just see all the people who would go crazy and shooting every cat they see just because they could. I've got enough worries without having to make sure I keep my cats inside lest a bullet come out of nowhere and make spaying and neutering the cat utterly useless. I know there are tons who think you're out of touch or in the wrong if you don't see animals and their lives as "trivial" (as another poster put it) but I don't know how someone could justify killing (even an animal) unless it was for survival, food, or both, possibly.

.

:doh:

This whole post is totally baseless...

Easier to shoot? Absolutely.

More fun? Empowering? Most likely NO... and even those who do feel "empowered" by shooting animals, you just generalized an entire group of people with your opinion, with nothing to back it up at all.

"You can just see all the people...." What an ignorant assumption to make. You think that enacting this proposal would result in a cat-massacre of epic proportions? Please... At least TRY to sound like you know what you're talking about.

And yes, I do see this as a trivial issue. Sorry, these are cats. They're not humans, they're not starving children, homeless veterans, or war-torn families. Just cats. If you value their life and well-being even close to that of a human, then I won't even bother trying to reason with you, you've already gone off the deep end.

[HighOnHendrix]

You're probably right, it's just that in context it sounds like it would be some highly despicable act.

You've got to understand that many people keep these animals as pets. Proposals to randomly shoot feral dogs would meet similar resistance. Remember that scene in Jaws where the townies are all going out to "catch us a shark"? That's more or less what I imagine happening in this situation.

[No_Pressure]

1. Hunting is not a sport. I don't understand people that kill for fun.

2. Spaying and neutering is all fun and great but here's a scenario. You're a guy who lives out in the middle of ****ing nowhere. You don't own cat traps or really have any means of catching the animal other than running it down which isn't going to happen with a wild cat.

Option A: you did manage to catch it, it's a long drive to the animal shelter where you may or may not have some sort of financial responsibility for the animal's spaying/neutering. The animal is neutered and returned to the wild where it finds its way back to your property and proceeds to kill entire generations of birds by itself. Overall you have a huge hassle, potentially have to pay money, trap an animal, drive a long distance, and when its all through, the cat is neutered. It can't make more cats but it sure does have a stomach, claws, and teeth. Your problem may decrease in a year or 5 years, but for now the situation hasn't improved very much.

Option B: You spend 5 minutes taking out your .22, you spend 10 cents on the cheap bullet, and if you're a nice guy you spend 10 minutes digging a pit to throw the dead cat carcass in. Your problem is solved quickly and cheaply.

3. Lets not talk about what "ought" to happen because as adults dealing with a rough world, it is inevitable that more often than not the things that "ought" to happen are impractical or unpopular and as a result simply do not happen. This idea of hunting cats isn't something that will cause a bunch of suburbanites to be hunting down Fluffy the cat every time it wanders past the fence into their yard, it's to benefit people in rural areas who want to keep the population of wild cats to a minimum for whatever reason.

Is it good to shoot cats? It is a good thing taking the life of something? Not in my book, and hopefully not with a lot of people. Will some people take joy in shooting cats or have fun killing the animal? Of course they will, and nothing is going to change that. At the same time will killing wild cats reduce their impact on an environment that can't handle them? Yes. Will it reduce the number of cats being born in the wild? Yes. Will it end painful afflictions the wild cat populations may be carrying and spreading? Yes. Will it save generations of birds? Yes. Is it practical and cost effective? Yes.

Those are all good things. Killing is a bad thing but an animal with rabies that nobody kills, which could infect other animals or humans, suffers a long and horribly painful death is much more disturbing in my mind. Is killing a cat a good thing? No, but neither is allowing a cat that doesn't naturally belong in the wild environment in North America kill off tens to hundreds of birds singlehandedly.

Sometimes difficult decisions need to be made with containing the animal population. Life isn't simple, and you are rarely given a good option. It would be nice if the wild cats and birds could live together peacefully but they can't and they never will be able to. Ever. The cats will kill and kill, and they aren't even a natural part of the ecosystem. That spells disaster. Spaying and neutering could help a generation down the road but it's expensive, time consuming, and far more difficult than simply killing the animal.

[twa]

Lets give the critters a fighting chance

or not.

[Symbol]

Shoot em. I love cats. But the feral ones are of no use.

I usually try and keep my beliefs out of issues like these and I WILL keep my religious views out, I won't even say what it is, those that know me already know. However, to this statement, domestic cats are the ones that are of no use. The majority of domestic cats aren't even allowed outside and they live a pampered lifestyle where they don't need to hunt.

Feral cats, though they may kill a pretty bird is still doing this out of natural instincts. Are they natural to North America, no. Nor is (and this is something I remember hearing, don't have any hard data to back it up) around 30-40% of the plants and animals currently in North America. Nature still has a way of evolving other creatures to fight back and if you believe that a cat does not have it's own predators then you're wrong. Wild dogs, coyote, wolves, even other large North American cats will hunt and kill a feral cat. Snakes will kill cats and yes, vice versa.

When I was a child I use to hunt. I learned that anything you kill you eat. How many people are going to do this with a cat they kill? How many are going to mount the cat to show off their "big" kill?

How about the fact that while 90% of the cats that would be shot at will be what is hit, what about the 10% that are other animals or even humans? These great "deer hunters" at times kill humans because of missing the target. Cats are a much smaller target and there's more of them.

Cats will kill birds, but it is, in my opinion, very doubtful that a cat is going to bring a specific breed of bird to extinction. They will get the slow and the weak, while the faster and stronger will survive. Cats will help control the population of snakes and rodents however.

This is my belief, take it however you like to.

[twa]

When I was a child I use to hunt. I learned that anything you kill you eat. How many people are going to do this with a cat they kill? How many are going to mount the cat to show off their "big" kill?

.

You never varmint hunt?

When there is a problem you eliminate it,same with feral dogs,coyotes ect

I'll leave mounting animals to others;)

possibly offensive pic

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l89/dmkilbride/buckmt2-07xp1233.jpg

[Symbol]

You never varmint hunt?

First, lol to the pic. Second, yes I use to hunt rabbits and squirrels, and yes I use to eat them.

[twa]

First, lol to the pic. Second, yes I use to hunt rabbits and squirrels, and yes I use to eat them.

Rabbit and squirrels are good eating, never tried a cat.

but I do eat Chinese,so who knows:)

[Springfield]

So I guess dead cat jokes are just against the rules as dead baby jokes?

[Symbol]

Rabbit and squirrels are good eating, never tried a cat.

but I do eat Chinese,so who knows:)

Well, I have been to a few Asian countries, 2 of which are known to have their older people eat dog and cat.

[Ned Flanders]

I'm in the club of "Let's not kill any domestic animal".

We have several feral cats that come around my house, and YES they are a slight pain in the ass. I have 2 indoor cats that fight with them through the sliding glass doors, no big deal. We actually feed two of them, and if something were wrong with them, I'd even take them to the vets. I LOVE ANIMALS, no other way to put it. I've tamed completely feral/wild/sctrach the **** out of you cats over the years, and to kill them is appauling. Shooting cats- you all must be from Fredneck or something......

I believe in hunting too, BUT FOR FOOD PURPOSES ONLY! Killing innocent cats because they ate your 'song birds' is idiotic. Tell the freakin Songbirds to go somewhere else.

I do condone trapping and spaying/neutering and then releasing, but NOT trapping to Euphanize unless the aninmal is sickly, or has obvious problems.

These are cats, and as noted, they actually help KEEP DOWN THE RODENT population, which in my eyes is a huge benefit.

[twa]

I believe in hunting too, BUT FOR FOOD PURPOSES ONLY! Killing innocent cats because they ate your 'song birds' is idiotic. Tell the freakin Songbirds to go somewhere else.

So if I feed them to my dog it is OK to shoot them?...carbon credits?:evilg:

Strange people that would have no problem calling for my dog to be killed if it killed their cat see nothing wrong with a cat killing birds.

Many even see nothing wrong with a cat running loose in a neighborhood.

Control your animals or predators may get them.

http://perso.orange.fr/prof.danglais/englishdepartment/pigeons/pigeons.mp3