John S. Coleman. wildlife ecologist with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission and Stanley A. Temple, Professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison say, “Our research in Wisconsin suggests that free-ranging rural cats may be killing up to 219 million birds in the state. Many are native songbirds whose populations are already stressed by a host of factors including development, habitat destruction and pesticide pollution. Many of these birds are ground-nesting grassland birds, like meadowlarks and sparrows, or birds that often feed on the ground, like robins.”
Each year the Wisconsin DNR meets with the public for the Annual Conservation Congress where a series of Executive Council Advisory Questions are put forth for review. Every county in the state holds a meeting on April 11, 2005 at 7 PM. Participants at the spring hearings will be asked the following…
Question 62 – Feral Cats
Studies have been done in Wisconsin concerning effects of free roaming feral domestic cats. These studies showed free roaming feral domestic cats killed millions of small mammals, song and game birds. Estimates range from a minimum of 47 million up to 139 million songbirds are killed each year. Free roaming feral domestic cats are not a native species in Wisconsin. The above mentioned cats do however kill native species therefore reducing native species.
At present free roaming feral domestic cats are not defined as a protected or unprotected species. Thus Wisconsin should move to define free roaming feral domestic cats, as any domestic type cat which is not under the owner’s direct control, or whose owner has not placed a collar on such cat showing it to be their property. All such defined free roaming feral domestic cats shall be listed as an unprotected species. In so doing Wisconsin would be defining and listing free roaming feral domestic cats.
62. Do you favor the DNR take steps to define free roaming feral domestic cats by the previously mentioned definition and list free roaming domestic feral cats as an unprotected species?
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Cat Action Team has sprung forth with a Don’t Shoot The Cat Campaign. Thanks to these cat lovers I get a rare chance to feel what it must be like to be a truly conservative Republican… and recommend that kat killers shop for something more effective than a .22 ’cause cats are hard to kill.
Cat-hunt plan has promoter in cross hairs
Friends of felines are outraged at notion of killing feral animals
