Feral Cats are Back!

Sure - Feral cats are back in the news, this time with their fate being voted on in all 72 Wisconsin counties at Wisconsin Conservation Congress meetings. Go here for the WCG comments on the issue. I do know that some counties were in favor of the lawful dispatching of feral cats, and others were not. The vote count should be done for tomorrow's new. Obviously, this would not involve shooting cats within city limits or where the discharge of a firearm is otherwise illegal.

Read an L.A. Times article here about the goings-on at the Madison meeting.

Personally, I think a feral cat - that is a cat that has no collar, no leash and is roaming wild - should be shot and eliminated just as other non-native exotic species are. Here are some reasons different groups of people should support this legislation:

• Cat Lovers: feral cats give all cats a bad name, and turn otherwise cat-lovers into cat-loathers.
• Environmentalists: feral cats eat our state's songbirds and other wild birds and animals. Just as environmentalists are trying to get rid of purple loostrife because it forces out native plants, they should get rid of feral cats because they not only eat our native wildlife, but compete with our native predators for limited prey.
• Hunters: feral cats eat, among other things, Ruffed grouse chicks, rabbits, and anything else they can find. You'd be surprised what a good-sized cat can bring home. I know a cat (OK, my cat - Gifford - when I was in Paraguay, where all things roam free) that brought home a full grown chicken once.
• Animal Rights Nuts: no comment on this hopeless bunch.

I really like cats, but I also like Wisconsin's native wildlife. There is a place for all, and a cat's place is indoors, or outdoors on a leash.