Ravenwood - 04/13/05 06:15 AM
I've never hunted anything in my life, but for some reason shooting cats sounds like a lot of fun.
The congress, which acts as an advisory group to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, asked residents in 72 counties 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.Sufferin' succotash. It sounds crazy, but the measure actually has quite a bit of support.If listed as so, the cats could be hunted.
Residents in La Crosse and Marathon counties voted for the proposal by a vote of 146 to 75 and 174 to 49, respectively. In Monroe County, the vote was 134 in favor, 39 against. But in Vernon County, 47 voted against it and 36 in favor. Other counties' tallies were unavailable Monday evening.If it passes, small game hunters could shoot wild felines which proponents say prey on small mammals and birds.
UPDATE: The Governor says it will never become law.
Category: Oddities
Comments (3) top link me
This might not make much difference in practice. How many of these cats are actually out in the woods, and how many are in housing areas where shooting firearms is usually prohibited? (And not unreasonably, in many cases - with anything from a .22 up, it's pretty difficult to be sure the bullet won't travel on and hit someone you can't see. It's a tiny risk, quite justified for something like a man breaking into your house, but hardly justified for an annoying feral cat.)
Will BB's bring down a cat? Maybe pellet guns or a .410 with fine birdshot would be effective and safe enough.
Posted by: markm at April 13, 2005 10:24 AMI don't know how much difference it will make even in the rural areas. I imagine anyone that would be willing to shoot feral cats is already practicing the SSS (Shoot Shovel Shutup) technique.
A .22 from a rifle is effective, but short of a perfect CNS shot it won't kill them fast enough to keep them from crawling under a house. I would not trust a pellet rifle to kill it except at very close range with a solid hit to the back of the head or between the eyes. The .410 would be much better.
Posted by: Andrew Upson at April 13, 2005 3:07 PMWatch for specials on "chicken" dishes at many fine Wisconsin Chinese dining establishments in the near future.
Sorry, couldn't resist. /sarcasm
Posted by: Steve Scudder at April 13, 2005 8:06 PM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
