Why isn't there a bounty on feral cats?
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at
6:16 am
Many people want to put a bounty on pythons in Florida since they are invasive and kill the native wildlife.
However, feral and stray cats kill way more animals than snakes do, as not only do they eat more often, but they also kill for fun.
Why is it okay for cats to decimate wild bird populations, but not okay for snakes to eat whatever they’re killing?
Is it because they are cute?
Filed under: Cat Behavior
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Then let’s put a bigger bounty on humans. By far, more bird and wildlife losses are caused by habitat destruction and insecticides as a direct result of humans – not cats!
Note: MJF – your statement "feral cats that grow up wild DO NOT TAME" is incorrect!
I have been involved in feral cat rescue for over 10 years and can tell you that about 50% of these cats are able to be tamed and put up for adoption. Those that are not are returned. My own cat is a ‘tamed’ cat who was a feral for the first 3 years of her life. She is now a wonderful companion. Please don’t spread false information if you don’t know the facts.
because cats are common household pets, while snakes can’t be household pets. therefore, people much rather adopt them than kill them
snakes are dangerous. Large snakes are not going after just small birds and rodents.. they have the potential to go after larger prey, such as livestock, dogs, small children, etc.. The snakes also dont have natural predators here in the US to keep them in check either.
Feral cats, on the other hand, are only killing small prey. They do have predators to keep them in check. Feral cats do not kill for fun.. pet cats maybe, a pet housecat doesnt have to worry about where its next meal is coming from.. but if a feral cat is going to kill something its going to eat it. Feral cats do help keep rodent populations in check.
Two reasons pop into my head,
1 Cats are not scary looking like giant snakes are.
2 Cats kill birds. birds sh@t on our cars.
and if they do put a bounty on pythons i will go to the pet store buy a sh@t load of them and take them to florida and turn them in for the bounty.
They were considering making a hunting season for cats in Michigan, however.
Well, cats are more likely to get adopted than pythons, and eat a lot less. And.. Between you and me spaying a python seems a little complicated.
I agree that feral cat populations are damaging to the environment, not to mention the cats themselves! I love cats, and feel angry that people’s carelessness with their pets has led to the feral cat problem.
The trouble with putting a bounty on the head of any animal is that it encourages unskilled hunters to "have a go" at making a few dollars without the skill required to kill the animals humanely. Also, how do you prove that a dead cat was feral? With the number of cats roaming neighbourhoods everywhere, what’s to stop people catching and killing domestic cats belonging to someone? There are plenty of people out there who resent having their neighbourhoods invaded by the pets of others, who would be more than happy to "dispose" of them, especially if there were a cash reward for doing so!
I think a bounty is a dangerous thing because of the many possibilities for abuse of the system. What I would be in favour of would be for the government to hire skilled hunters to cull populations of feral cats using humane methods. At the moment, this responsibility often falls into the hands of animal welfare groups such as the RSPCA here in Australia, who catch and euthanise tens of thousands of feral cats each year. This takes up a lot of the funding they could be using toward caring for and rehoming domestic animals. Before people get upset about this – feral cats that grow up wild DO NOT TAME. After a kitten hits about 6 months of age, it is not possible to turn it into a pet. It will remain wild and will not adapt to a domestic environment.
By setting aside funding for a legal, regulated cull, this would leave the welfare groups to do their job and hopefully save thousands of cats from a future of feral living….and I don’t see why it shouldn’t be tax-payer funded. After all, it’s people that have created this problem in the first place!
What they should do is put a bounty on ppl who dump their pets