Can a resident in Ohio shoot feral cats in their backyard?

A person living in Ohio, USA, asked this question on a legal forum website: Am I able to shoot or kill these feral cats that destroy my garden and poop all over my yard and porch - there are 10?

Man in USA shooting feral cats. Image in the public domain (believed).

The very clear answer is NO. This man cannot shoot feral cats in his backyard. That is the advice of John Ashley Bell, attorney at law in Bexley, Ohio. He is an animal specialist as I understand it. He said the following: 

"YOU MAY NOT SHOOT THESE CATS!!!!!! With all due respect to my colleagues, this would be a criminal act! Under Ohio law, all cats are considered "companion animals," regardless of where they are. It is a CRIME in Ohio to "needlessly kill" any companion animal. See Ohio Revised Code section 959.131(B). Regardless of the concerns you states in your question, killing would be considered "needless" because there are many other possibilities, including the suggestion that you call Capital Area Humane (one of the finest agencies anywhere, by the way). The first cat that you kill can have you charged with a first degree misdemeanor. The next one would be a FELONY. Do not take the law into your own hands. We have plenty of other options."

Another attorney writing on that same forum said the same thing more or less.

The underlying an ever present problem with shooting feral cats in any county, city or state of the USA is that, at a distance, you don't really know if you are shooting a domestic cat or a feral cat. Or a cat in between the two such as a stray cat or a community cat. This means that when shooting a feral cat you could be shooting a domestic cat which would quite positively be a crime anywhere in the USA.

And it would be a crime to should feral cats in most states of the USA because you are committing animal cruelty. If you shoot a domestic cat, you will also be committing criminal damage. There will be a number of possible crimes when killing a domestic cat. 

These factors make it impractical the shoot feral cats and in any case it is highly immoral. It is animal cruelty. Why even ask the question? Lastly, there are many other ways to stop feral cats getting into your backyard. They need to be explored.

RELATED: An article about animal consciousness and sentience: Scientists propose that we should regard animals in general as conscious beings.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Animal advocates say school kids swung around dead cats (they'd shot) in front of them saying "meat, meat, meat"

NEWS AND VIEWS - NORTH CANTERBURY, NEW ZELAND: Animal advocates were present at the North Canterbury Hunting Competition in Wellington, New Zealand. You may have read about this competition in which adults and schoolchildren under the age of 14 go out and shoot wild animals including feral cats. The kids were offered a £100 cash prize for the most cats shot dead! Great.

There was uproar about schoolchildren shooting feral cats. The first problem is that it indoctrinates the children into believing that shooting animals for fun is a good thing. Secondly, you can never be sure that you are shooting a feral cat or a domestic cat; someone's pet.

Animal advocates say schoolkids swung around dead cats they'd shot in front of them saying "meat, meat, meat". Image: NZ Herald.

Because of the uproar, 'on the ground' and online, the people who made the rules about the competition said that children under 14 couldn't shoot feral cats in order, I guess, to appease the animal advocates who were protesting.

But the adult version of the events still took place. Adults still shoot feral cats and perhaps occasionally someone's domestic cat companion. There is a photograph online of what appears to be hundreds of animals piled up as the end result of this shooting competition. To an animal advocate it looks disgusting.

But the point of the article is that a group of six protesters at the event were taunted by children who began repeatedly chanting the word "meat" while swinging around dead cats presumably by the tail. Charming.

It's reported that before they did this the children told the animal advocates to go and eat carrots and grass. They added that the protesters were going to die from a lack of protein and iron.

One animal advocate, Sarah Jackson, said, "The first thing we saw when we arrived was children having relay races with the deceased bodies of animals. These included baby pigs, rabbits and possums."

The organisers of the fundraising event said that the protesters had provoked the children. And they justify the shooting of feral cats because of the devastating impact that they have on native species. Comment: that does not address the problem of indoctrinating children into accepting what most people regard as unethical and immoral behaviour. And it does not address the problem about shooting domestic cats by accident.

So, the conclusion from this story is that the children concerned are beyond redemption. The world has lost them to animal cruelty. They will be cruel to animals all their lives and people are going to have to accept it. They've been taught that by their parents and by the hunters and shooters of New Zealand who see nothing wrong with destroying sentient creatures to protect native mammals and marsupials.

There must be a better way. I'm sympathetic about protecting native species but to do it this way is very crude and cruel. And it doesn't really work except to entertain the people doing the shooting. You can't simply eradicate all the feral cats in New Zealand or in a certain area of New Zealand by shooting them. They come back; they breed. 

There has to be a far more sensible, efficient, practical and long-lasting solution and of course one which is humane and decent.

Diabolical Australian shooters killing as many 'diabolical' feral cats as possible.

It is blood lust war on an unwanted animal. Sod the philosophical issues. Just grab the rifle and bullets and get out there in the Aussie outback and start taking pot shots at cats as fast and as furiously as possible. I can't watch the video. To sick and irritating for me. But it may interest some people and provide an insight into their thinking. Did I say 'thinking'? Not much deep thinking going on.

The caption to the video reads:

"In Shooting Cats, VICE set out to explore the consequences of Australia's feral cat plague, and confront the uncomfortable and violent realities of dealing with it. Most suburban Australians give feral cats little thought. But for residents of the country’s rural fringes, they’re a diabolical pest and scourge on wildlife. Found in 99 percent of Australia, they’re estimated to kill more than two million native animals a day. That devastation has seen Kangaroo Island local Barry Green declare a personal war against cats; trapping and skinning them, before turning them into hats and fridge magnets."

You can see that the people who made the video detest the feral cat. They don't ask deeper questions other than believe that the feral cats kills too many natives species. It would be asking too much for these ignorant shooters (they look a bit thick, don't they?) to think a bit deeper about the origin of the feral cat. Why are they there on their continent?

Because of stupid people; that's why. People like you. The cat is not naturally in Australia. They were brought there by settlers who let their domestic cats run wild and become feral. The early Aussie were stupid too.

As people created the 'feral cat problem' they have an obligation now to sort the problem. And as they are sentient beings the problem needs to be sorted humanely. But that simple truth escapes them entirely.

The point is that these guys love to shoot animals. It is a pleasure for them and the presence of the feral cat gives them a wonderful opportunity to satisfy their blood lust.

If it isn't the feral cat, it'd be the fox or the kangaroo. Just gotta shoot animals. Any animal will do but it has to be legal and it is legal to shoot feral cats in Australia.

What these guys are doing would be entirely illegal in the UK. They'd be in the criminal courts facing a year or more in jail for animal cruelty. Yes. Sounds weird right? But it is true.

The Australian animal welfare laws don't protect feral cats.

Criticising Patrick Gower for advocating shooting feral cats in New Zealand

Paddy Gower - I'm told on a news website - has 'issues' with feral cats. He thinks that they are dangerous pests and that they should be shot dead ('hunted'). They should be hunted to extirpation. I can't read the article on their website because I live in a region of the world where it is not published. I have no idea why they restrict publication of this site to certain countries. That seems bizarre to me.

Patrick Gower. Image: Twitter. His face is as unattractive as his attitude towards feral cats.

Paddy Gower's attitude towards feral cats is also bizarre. Actually, it's more ignorant than bizarre. But then again, it should be added that a lot of New Zealanders (Kiwis) dislike feral cats to the point where they think they should be shot. 

Simply do away with them. It doesn't matter whether it's cruel or whether they are euthanised humanely. They actually prefer the former method because it's quicker and cheaper. The objective after all is, as mentioned, extirpation of the entire species from their country.

This is along the lines of Australians. It's a cultural problem. They ignore the central aspect of their inhumane attitude which is that they, New Zealanders, put the feral cats there in the first place. They are the creators of the so-called "feral cat problem".

When a person creates a problem, they have a duty to clear up the problem. And when the problem concerns sentient creatures, they have a parallel duty to clear up the problem humanely. That is the moral obligation. They entirely miss this critical point. That's why I have called them ignorant and which is why Paddy Gower is ignorant. Yes, strong words but my words are very much in line with his words. I chose my words carefully. He didn't.

You do not advocate the hunting of feral cats. If you do that you are advocating animal cruelty. And perhaps more importantly, you are encouraging people to take pot shots at a cat at a distance. Some of them will be indoor/outdoor domestic cats and therefore owned by a New Zealander. That would be a crime. The crime of criminal damage as well as a crime under the country's animal welfare laws.

You cannot advocate shooting feral cats. Period. It is an entirely unacceptable behaviour.

Paddy Gower is advocating potential criminality in his shoddy statement.

Patrick Gower (born 1976/1977) is a New Zealand political journalist and National Correspondent for Newshub (formerly called 3 News). Prior to his current role he was Newshub's political editor. - Wikipedia.

When you shoot feral cats, you psychologically harm the people who care for them

Even in Australia where the feral cat is a pest to be killed in any way possible (irrespective of whether it's cruel or not), often by shooting, there are volunteers who operate TNR programs to manage feral cat colonies. One of these is in Newcastle, Australia and this study refers to them as the 'Stockton Breakwall' cats. Under the orders of the local authority the feral cats were shot at. The intention was to kill them but when you shoot at feral cats you don't always kill them cleanly; in fact probably hardly ever. You leave them severely injured and dying slowly. Barbaric, I say. Unforgivable.

When you shoot feral cats, you psychologically harm the people who care for them. Image: MikeB

This study says that the culling process was mismanaged. They say that it was mismanaged in two ways both in the intended euthanasia (laugh) of the feral cats concerned and in the psychological harm that this process caused to the TNR volunteers.

And I love this study because it looks at the effects of shooting feral cats from the standpoint of the people who want to care for them and who do the right thing. TNR volunteers are great people because they deal with feral cats humanely.

Nathan Winograd, one of America's great animal advocates, sets out six reasons why TNR programs are good for the community. A TNR program:

1. Improves the health of community cats;
2. Reduces intake and killing of community cats;
3. Reduces complaint calls to animal control;
4. Reduces illness in the shelter;
5. Reduces waste of taxpayer money on impound and killing; and, 
6. Increases opportunities to expand the lifesaving of other animals.

By contrast, he says that "lethal methods not only harm cats, they also harm people". The study I'm referring to is "The Impact of Lethal, Enforcement-Centred Cat Management on Human Wellbeing". Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13020271

In summary, they found that the bond between caregivers and cats was "as strong as the bonds with their own pets" and that the "the cats looked to them (the caregivers) to keep them safe and fed".

“I had a favourite called (Nala) and she was one of the ones that got killed… There’s people that really, really had such strong feelings for these animals… They are very loved.”

“They’re not feral. They’re pets waiting to go home, they really are. They’ve proven that to all of us that care for them. They just deserve better.”

“…the worst area. There was blood everywhere. All over the rocks, all over the pathway, like drag marks. So, once I’d sat with them, I’m going, ‘far out!’—something horrendous has happened here… I just started crying because the realization that out of the cats that were there, they probably only spotted about five. It was like, oh my God, what the hell has happened out here?”

“… two men came back in sort of like council suits, and they had some wheelie bins with them. They proceeded to scrub the blood away. They had cleaning products, and they were cleaning up the mess. We asked them what they were doing, and they laughed at us. That’s when we knew that this was something way bigger than we ever imagined.” 

We know that TNR volunteers give names to the semi-domesticated feral cats. They treat them as domestic cats and some of them are. They are adoptable. But they are living good lives in a feral cat community. The arrangement is beneficial for the human and the cat community. Why destroy that? And why destroy it in such a brutal and insensitive way?

I'll tell you why. It is because the Australian authorities across the continent have got it into their heads that they have to eradicate feral cats because they are preying upon their small mammal and marsupial native species. They want to conserve these small native species and of course I strongly agree with that objective.

But they can do far better in their objective if they looked to themselves and their behaviour. Human behaviour is far more destructive of Australia's native species then feral cat behaviour. Prioritise the most damaging cause of the gradual extirpation of native species which is human activity both in building new settlements as Australia is always doing to improve the economy and in terms of their contribution to global warming through the exportation of vast amounts of coal to China.

Australia has suffered from horrendous global warming events such as massive floods and intolerable heat waves. Look to yourselves I say and stop harming the kind and generous people who care for feral cats that were put there by human negligence.

It is unsurprising that feral cat caregivers suffer psychologically when their cats are shot brutally. The suffering was described as "significant". It led to "grief, trauma, poor physical health, and long-term psychological distress, including profound guilt, loss and the ability to eat" in the words of Nathan Winograd. Stop it!! You are insensitive and frankly ignorant when you order shooters to kill feral cats.

And what about the mistakes? Shooting someone's pet cat which must happen. Then you harm the owner psychologically as well. 

And what about shooting millions of kangaroos? 

74-year-old man shoots and kills his neighbour's cat

NEWS/COMMENT: The information is skimpy but it comes from the police of Brookville, Pennsylvania, USA. Police were called to a home on Summit Street on Sunday after a neighbour had shot and killed his neighbour's cat. 

We don't have a photo of the man or the cat. Sorry. Photo of police are in the public domain.

It appears that the deceased cat was an indoor cat who escaped and which had made his/her way to inside a neighbour's porch. The neighbour, a 74-year-old man, tried to remove the cat from his porch using a broom. He tried on two occasions which appears to have aggravated the cat causing the cat to become aggressive to him which resulted in the man retaliating by shooting the animal. 

There is no more information. I feel I need to comment. There would appear to be some background antagonism in this story which is not been mentioned. There will also appear to be antagonism towards cats by the person who shot the cat. And, perhaps more importantly, the man who shot the cat aggravated the cat with a broom on two occasions to the point where the cat became aggressive. Yes, I know I am repeating myself but the point needs to be stressed. Although I am guessing as to the cause of the cat's aggression as the story is short on detail.

If I'm correct, and I are almost certainly am correct because domestic cats do not attack people willy-nilly without provocation, this is a case of animal cruelty under the local applicable laws which will not be applied in this instance because they really are.

Dogs 'euthanized' by shooting in a New South Wales pound

NEWS AND COMMENT: It appears to me that shooting dogs in publicly funded pounds in New South Wales is quietly accepted. They are shot as a form of euthanasia. The news is shocking and yet unsurprising because Australians do like to shoot 'things' particularly feral cats and kangaroos!

Dogs in a pound. Images: PA.

On this occasion several dogs were impounded within a publicly funded facility but they were due to be transferred to a rescue shelter but before that happened, they were shot by officials of Bourke Shire Council. The excuse given is that they didn't want to expose volunteers who are coming to pick up the dogs to the Covid-19 virus.

The incident is being investigated because it may be a criminal act. It should be a criminal act because you can't euthanised a dog with a bullet in my honest opinion and therefore it's animal cruelty and it falls under the animal cruelty laws of that state. But no doubt nothing will happen.

Volunteers who were asked to pick up the dogs are obviously distressed. The Minister for Local Government, Shelley Hancock, has not commented. Lisa Ryan an animal liberation campaigner has asked for an urgent investigation. She was deeply distressed and appalled by the incident. She rejects the justification for the shooting.

Hancock claimed that she wasn't aware of the euthanasia of pound animals by shooting. She said that if was a practice she'd been concerned. 

Apparently, councils are not required to reveal how they euthanise animals in their care. It also encourages me to believe that shooting dogs and cats in pounds happens. We don't know how often. I hope rarely but I have a feeling that it is not that rare.

Abigail Boyd, a Greens MP and animal welfare spokeswoman said that the government had still not taken any action despite the issue being raised in Parliament. She said: "Council pounds are paid for by local communities, and it is clear that shooting lost and unclaimed dogs housed in these publicly-funded facilities falls far short of community expectations."

That too implies that shooting dogs in pounds is not uncommon. A spokesperson for the office of local government said that they'd issued new guidance during the pandemic about keeping staff and volunteers safe through altered procedures while ensuring that their services continued. Perhaps it is this directive which is being utilised to justify the shooting of these dogs. If so, it's a feeble reason. It is a cruel act. I hope someone pays for it.

But the fact that the matter is that there seems to be a disconnect among a large segment of Australian society between their desire to eradicate feral cats by shooting or in any other way (poisoning) and the morality of that act. And I think that when you engage in mass slaughter of any animal as is the case with feral cats in Australia, you blunt your sensitivity towards animal sentience and this leads to the sort of event described in this article.

Source: Unilad.co.uk.

Using padded-jaw traps to capture feral cats and then shoot them

One way that Australia's conservationists are controlling feral cats is to trap them in padded-jaw traps. They call this 'live trapping' followed by euthanasia but the euthanasia is a bullet to the brain. If the shot is accurate. Obviously, a padded trap is going to cause much less injury than the standard jaw traps which are excruciating. 

But they admit that these leghold traps cause pain and distress. They can cause injuries and of course padded-jaw traps will trap animals other than feral cats. And therefore, the experts have advice on how to use them to minimise distress and pain (pestsmart.org.au).

Feral cat caught in a padded jaw trap ready to be shot. Photo: Chris Rumpf.

It's quite instructive. For example, once they are trapped feral cats should be killed as quickly as possible. This means inspecting the trapped daily. This prevents the animal dying from exposure or thirst and starvation. The traps can be set in places where there is some shade. Trapping should be carried out in reasonable weather conditions to avoid feral cats being trapped under harsh conditions. 

Trapping should be carried out when females are lactating, I guess to avoid trapping females with dependent kittens. If a female with kittens is trapped, the conservationist should find the dependent kittens and kill them quickly and humanely. That's interesting because there is no attempt in that advise to find homes for the kittens. Feral kittens can be socialised quite easily.

Padded-jaw traps can capture a whole range of non-target animals such as wombats, possums, bilbies, rabbits, kangaroos, ravens and magpies et cetera. Wallabies apparently experience serious injuries while trapped birds and rabbits can be preyed upon by foxes and feral cat. Ironic.

If a non-target animal is trapped and severely injured or suffering from thermal stress they should receive "appropriate attention". They recommend taking the animal to a veterinarian or registered wildlife carer for treatment. If they can't be treated, they should be euthanised. I bet the last option is favoured.

If a domestic cat is caught in a trap, they should be taken to the nearest animal shelter, pound or veterinarian to be examined for their injuries, scanned for a microchip and the owner contacted. Comment: I wonder how they compensate the owner if the cat is injured? Or killed? Do they compensate cat owners under these circumstances? They should do. Technically it would be a crime. It would be the crime of criminal damage but no doubt there are exemptions to the usual criminal law when conservationists kill domestic cats in the furtherance of conservation of native species in Australia.

Padded jaw traps should have no teeth. They recommend no smaller than a .17 calibre rimfire with hollow/soft point ammunition for euthanasia. They are advised also that they can use 12-gauge shotguns with shot size of BB or AAA. The bloody world of conservation in Australia. The feral cat is their arch-enemy.

Japanese man, Hirata, admits to killing over a hundred cats with an air rifle

Yachiyo, Chiba, Japan: I have made the presumption that he used an air rifle. The news media reports that he used an "airgun". In a country where, politeness, integrity, good manners and self-discipline is important (or at least that is how it appears to Westerners), it is surprising to read about 49-year-old Yuichiro Hirata. He is a part-time employee and he told the police: "I have killed approximately 100 cats."

 Japanese man, Hirata, admits to killing over a hundred cats with an air rifle. Photo: Twitter.

He had been previously accused of killing over a dozen cats but he came forward to admit his crimes on July 15. In respect of one cat which is shot in the leg, breaking the cat's leg, he said: "I felt like I had conquered a vulnerable cat."

Last December he was arrested for killing a cat with his airgun at a housing complex in Yachiyo City. He's been accused of violating the Animal Protection Law and the Swords and Firearms Control Law. Social media users are outraged with one suggesting that the state puts him down i.e. euthanize him just like cats are euthanised by people. Another said that he needs to be incarcerated and be mentally evaluated. He needs to be continuously monitored and receive lifelong treatment.

A lot of Japanese people are angry. Comment: I don't have any more information. The story was reported in The China Post. It kind of proves that this sort of casual, psychopathic cat cruelty and abuse is not confined to the West. 

We normally read about it in the UK or America. That's because it is reported more often in those countries but of course it happens in any country where there are stray cats which offer up a juicy target to miscreants who want to entertain themselves by shooting at something that moves.

This is the great problem with feral, stray and community cats; they are a moving target for people obsessed with guns, death and shooting things. Whenever there are guns in society there will be a desire to use them and on whom do you use them? You can't shoot people without being convicted of murder but she can shoot cats and get away with it. But for the fact that this man gave himself up, he'd probably be taking pot shots at cats today.

Hirata lives in Chiba City’s Wakaba Ward. In 2003, he became licensed to carry the air gun for hunting and other purposes. Does Japan need to re-evaluate their gun licensing regulations?

It would be a good test of Japanese law enforcement to see what kind of sentence he received on conviction.

33 cats dumped on the roadside with food then 15 of them shot dead

DUNN COUNTY, WISCONSIN, USA - NEWS AND COMMENT: In a heinous crime of great brutality perpetrated by a person or persons, 33 cats appear to have been abandoned on the roadside with a pile of cat food. Then somebody shot at them killing 15.

 33 cats dumped on the roadside with food then 15 of them shot dead. Photo: Humane Soc.

Jamie Wagner, Kennel Manager at the Dunn County Humane Society attended the scene which she said has left her haunted. She said: "I was not prepared for what I saw. I have been working here 15 years, I have seen a lot of things. It was very horrific."

She said that it appeared that somebody had abandoned 33 cats and 15 had been shot. They don't know the circumstances as to why someone would do this. Comment: I know the reason why they did it. It is because they are cat-hating, nasty, insensitive, psychopathic individuals who think they can treat cats as inanimate objects without any consequences for what they're doing.

UPDATE 4/30/21: The reward for information leading to the person/people responsible for this act has been raised to...

Posted by Dunn County Humane Society on Wednesday, April 28, 2021

In a Facebook post from the Dunn County Humane Society they provided an update on April 30 telling us: "The reward for information leading to the person/people responsible for this act has been raised to $5000. Please report any tips directly to the Dunn County Sheriff's Department!"

They follow it by stating: "This is not the type of post we enjoy putting up, but this is such an act of cruelty that we need to do everything we can to find the person/people responsible. Any information regarding this incident would be greatly appreciated."

The details to contact these people are as follows:

• Dunn County Humane Society (715) 232-9790
• info@dunncountyhumanesociety.org
• Dunn County Sheriff’s Office (715) 232-1348

Comment: I have been reading news media stories about this sort of cat abuse/cruelty in America and in other countries, let's be clear, for 14 years. To me, it is not surprising or shocking. I have seen similar acts of cruelty reported in news media before. This story stands out somewhat because of the numbers involved. And it is the first time I have read of cats being abandoned on the roadside and then shot at. 

It takes a particular kind of individual to do it. It seems that a person abandon the cats then stepped back and shot at them but it is entirely possible that there were two or more perpetrators namely the person who abandon the cats and then another person came along, saw them, and decided to shoot at them. Therefore the police may be searching for two or more people as the Facebook post indicates.

God willing they'll be caught. But don't hold your breath because there is invariably a lack of evidence. This probably occurred in a remote place. No cameras. No evidence.

Note: The embedded FB post may stop working. If that has happened I apologise but I have no control over it.

Ozzy Osbourne said that he likes to shoot cats to keep himself sane

I believe that Ozzy Osbourne and his family i.e. his wife Sharon and his daughter Kelly live in Los Angeles in a large house with extensive grounds which cost a fortune. Ozzy Osbourne is known for his outlandish behaviour and views. 

However, I don't think anything could be quite more outlandish or schizophrenic than his claim, in a radio interview reported in The Mirror newspaper, that he likes to shoot cats wandering into his extensive backyard with a rifle, I presume from inside his home. 

Ozzy Osbourne said that he likes to shoot cats to keep
 himself sane. Photo in public domain.

He said that it keeps him sane and implies that the coronavirus lockdowns have driven him to insanity combined with the fact that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's not long ago which leaves him concerned as to whether he will be able to walk.

His claim reminds me of Jeremy Paxman shooting squirrels from his toilet (sitting on the loo). That was a bizarre claim as well.

He also claimed that he shoots birds. He said that he was a lousy shot but by implication he appears to have improved his skills perhaps because of all the practice he has had in shooting cats! 

But, can this be true? He has featured on a poster campaign to stop declawing of cats organised by PETA, the animal welfare organisation. This clearly implies that he has animal welfare in mind. He should be concerned about animal welfare if he agreed to this campaign. 

Ozzy's poster against cat declawing.
Image: PETA.

And, of course, shooting what might well be domestic cat living with neighbours on his lawn is completely the opposite. That is why I have described his words and perhaps actions as schizophrenic.

If it is, indeed true, however, it must be a crime under California's animal welfare laws. And he can't be sure that he is shooting a feral cat. It is more likely that they are domestic cats wandering around from neighbourhood properties. I don't know the situation where he lives. Perhaps he has no neighbours or they are quite a distance away. Even if they are feral cats, I am convinced that shooting them for entertainment purposes is a crime in a state which is quite advanced in its attitude towards animal welfare and in its laws.

New Zealand shooter kills a "monstrous" feral cat

ANALYSIS: A man in New Zealand, Jesse Feary, likes to shoot possums and was out hunting when a very large black cat crossed his path. He tracked it down and shot it from about 50 metres away. He believes that it was some sort of "baby big cat" (are you joking Feary?) which is absolutely ridiculous because it is clearly a very large black feral cat. It is known that feral cats grow to a very large size on the Australian continent and in New Zealand as well (perhaps more rarely) because they have available prey and therefore over many years they have evolved into bigger animals.

Photo: Jesse Feary

You can see in the photograph that he took above that this feral cat is about the length of his rifle when you factor in the legs. I don't think this is monstrous but it is certainly large for a feral cat. It isn't the first time that very large feral cats have been shot by New Zealanders or Australians. Both these countries contain citizens who like to kill animals. They both appear to have a hatred of feral cats although I am generalising because there will be lots of people who are more sensitive towards stray and feral cats.

For an outsider like me it is disgusting to be perfectly frank. I hate to see it and it is highly insensitive, crude and basic in nature. You know, the guy was going out possuming which mean shooting possums for the fun of it. The guy just likes to shot whatever he can legally; whatever he can take pot shots out. It's all ridiculous in my book. But there it is; this is the photograph and you decide for yourselves whether this is a small big cat or just a big feral cat! It's a no-brainer it has to be a feral cat. The cat was shot in in the North Canterbury area, as I understand it.

Feral Cats Are Part of the Ecosystem

Yes, we need to remind ourselves that feral cats are part of the ecosystem. They are integrated into the wildlife. They prey on certain wildlife and certain wildlife preys on them and if that is disturbed there may be unforeseen consequences down the food chain. The feral cat primarily feeds on rodents such as mice and rats. It is a myth that feral cats prey on birds in large numbers. Some people want to get rid of the feral cat completely. I don't think they have thought through the consequences of that objective. What would happen to the rat population?

Some people like to shoot feral cats and these people would like to see all feral cats eradicated. But we know that as feral cats are part of the ecosystem and they prey on rats they cannot be eradicated without massive unforeseen and possibly disastrous consequences. In which case they should not shoot feral cats at all because they shoot them with intention of the long-term objective of eradicating them which, as I just stated, is impossible and unwise.

An example of the unwise nature of trying to eradicate an animal that is considered a pest or a nuisance is the long-term attempt to eradicate the dingo in Australia. If Australians do not wish to eradicate the dingo then they at least they wish to hunt it in large numbers to reduce the population size.

The 70 year hunt of the dingo in Australia going forward will damage native wildlife species and in some cases endangered species. This is the conclusion of a study by the New South Wales University published in The Proceedings of the Royal Society.

The dingo preys on animals such as kangaroos, foxes and possums and these animals prey on other animals such as native rodents. If you kill the dingo there are more animals that can prey on rodents therefore the rodent population falls. However there are other animals such as bandicoots that are preyed upon by these animals. As can be seen in trying to exterminate the dingo there is a knock-on effect which can lead unforeseen and detrimental consequences.

The feral cat preys on rodents as mentioned. If you exterminate the feral cat in Australia, logically that should lead to a sharp increase in the population numbers of bush and swamp rats. Rats can kill native wild life.

Another interesting aspect of the attempt to exterminate animals that are perceived as pests is that you end up with conflicting consequences. Exterminating the dingo results of a fall in the rat population, it seems, while exterminating the feral cat results in a rise in the population numbers of rats. If the authorities wish to exterminate both feral cats and dingos in Australia the consequences will conflict and surely that indicates that there has been a lack of foresight as to the consequences.

In my opinion, it is foolhardy to mess with an ecosystem. If Australians wish to conserve native wildlife than they could achieve much more and in a far more humane manner if they analysed more accurately the impact that they, themselves have on native wildlife species including habitat destruction and take steps to remedy that.

The human is the greatest danger to native wild species in Australia or anywhere else. People should stop passing the buck to animals. It only delays what has to be done. The modern human has a habit of evading responsibility for his actions.

Ground Shooting of Feral Cats

"Ground Shooting of Feral Cats" is recommended in New South Wales, Australia. I was told by the "experts" that this sort of thing did not happen in Australia. Well it does.

There is a "How To" set of rules on making the process as efficient as possible. The rules have been prepared by Trudy Sharp & Glen Saunders, NSW Department of Primary Industries. The PDF file containing this information has been deleted or removed from the Internet (it seems) but the html version is still in cache.

It makes for brutal reading. Australians really do have a problem with their feral cats because they see no way of dealing with them other than outright killing any way possible. The thing is this: killing feral cats leaves a vacuum. This vacuum is filled by more feral cats. You guys have created a problem, now you're going to have to put some resources towards solving it and in a humane way, not the brutal and ultimately ineffective (and certainly financially ineffecient) slaying of innocent creatures. You Aussies can be brutal and uncivilized sometimes.

They say "shooting is one of the main methods of control currently used". It is done at night from a vehicle with a search light. They say it can be humane provided the person doing the shooting is skilled. Of course no one has a clue if these people are skilled. So, it's a fair bet that they aren't.

Frankly the ground shooting of feral cats in Australia it is not much better than the Chinese eating cat meat. The person shooting has to establish the cat is not someones domestic cat before blasting it. How the hell can you do that from a vehicle at night and from a distance? Come on Aussies. The rules also state that the shooters should not kill lactating females as the kittens will starve to death. How the hell are you blood thirsty guys with rifles going to find that out? Are you going to go up to the cat and inspect her first?

For effective ground shooting of feral cats in Australia, the preferred shots are the head shot and chest shot and instructions are given in some detail as to do this effectively. Even the type of gun is recommended, namely

"small bore, high velocity, centre fire rifles fitted with a telescopic sight are preferred eg. .22-250, .22 Hornet, .222 Remington, .223 or .243 Winchester. Hollow-point or soft-nosed ammunition should always be used".

I could go on. Is Australia the only country that officially endorses killing of what was once a domestic cat with a firearm. It happens in places like Croatia and Romania. So, this seems to put the Australians on a similar footing to those countries.

I presume by the way that the alternative to ground shooting of feral cats is shooting from the air. That will, no doubt be next, with a machine gun, I expect.

It isn't just about feral cats. Feral pigs, wild dogs, rabbits and foxes etc. are shot, poisoned, trapped and gassed in the most cruel and inhumane way in Australia.

• Ground Shooting of Feral Cats to Savannah cat banned from Australia (contains a debate on the feral cat of Australia)
• Go to Feral Cats (new window) - this is a major link and the page leads to lots more on the feral cat. An interesting and important story is the one taking place in Beverly Hills. You might like to read these:
• Help Fight Beverly Hills Municipal Code - this story is about city legislators who are at the forefront of change in regards to how to deal with the feral cat.