Killing feral cats

Killing feral cats is a big job in a country where there are millions of feral cats. Americans, having created a feral cat problem of gigantic and almost uncontrollable proportions, are now beginning to resort to allowing anyone with a gun (and there are many Americans with guns) to shoot them at will. Is this what you have come down to killing feral cats at will?

{Note: I am not criticizing America or all the people of America - I like America - but those people in America who think hunting feral cats with guns is the right way to fix the feral cat problem}

{Note 2: In the UK it is an offence to puposefully kill a cat - hunting feral cats would be a criminal act in the UK}

Apparently in South Dakota and Minnesota people are already allowed to hunt feral cats (these were domestic cats, lets not forget). And now a fireman named Mark Smith, has proposed hunting feral cats in Wisconsin. He has had death threats as a result but the public in a vote have agreed (6830 to 5201).

This doesn't actually surprise me but it really is a highly ignorant and a cruel thing to do. We need to take responsibility for what we have done. We created the problem. There are clearly far to many people in Wisconsin abandoning cats that have not been neutered. Is there not some way to deal with that at source? Yes, that is a harder route but it is fair, right and proper to punish those who are responsible rather than killing feral cats by hunting them.

There seems to be a much bigger feral cat problem in the USA than on Europe because of the size of the country, the improved weather in the warmer States and the ever increasing population. It is unthinkable that people in Europe would vote to shoot feral cats (or some do with air guns for fun). For a start very few people have a gun. We just don't have guns except for a tiny minority who are either criminals, sportspeople or farmers etc.

And think of the hazards. When Americans shoot wildlife (another cruel and unnecessary act), they do so usually far from other people and even then accidents happen and people get shot. How are the authorities going to make it safe for people to fire guns willy-nilly at cats in surburbia? People are bound to get hurt. It'll be impossible to control surely?

Then there is the humane element. Even if it could be justified how many cats will be injured and die cruel and agonizing deaths? How mad is this? How uncivilized is this? I am afraid it is the kind of mentality that can make America unpopular in the eyes of some people in the rest of the world. You know the red necked gung-ho thing. Killing feral cats by hunting is cruel and shows a lack of education.


Killing feral cats to British Shorthair