Cows Say - Shut Mor Dawgs (and Kats.)

Wisconsin may soon classify feral cats as nuisance species that can be shot on sight by any hunter. The hunters have support from scientific studies that show that cats eat millions of songbirds every year.

Predictably, there are those who are opposed to this. They claim that hunting will not change the feral cat population and that there are better ways of reducing the population, but they provide no specifics. They also claim that the two main studies in the CNN article are flawed. They are wrong on this.

The highly respected Audobon Society is firmly against feral cats and cites a lot of literature. The Texas Parks and Wildlife has studied this issue and has lots of data. And such hands-on conservation organizations such as the Nature Conservancy has wrestled with this issue - and the only solution is to REMOVE the cats.

Furthermore, hunters have been very successful in reducing or completely eliminating predator populations. Studies like this one show that predator removal increases survivability. Hunting eliminated wolves, bears, and other species from many states.

I think hunting feral cats is a great idea. I love putting my boots on right before dawn on my front porch while listening to the birds chirping and singing in the predawn light and seeing the flashes of blue or red as they fly around as I check stock. If we were overrun with cats, there would be no birds around here.

Its also an open secret of ranching that ranchers shoot feral cats and dogs on sight. Its a ranching ethic that is as set in stone as checking your gates.

Over the years I have seen "stray" dogs chase down and kill two of my calves in the pasture and kill sick calves in my pens. I have seen people in nice SUVs and ratty old cars dump off dogs behind my house. I have swerved to miss road-stupid dogs and run off the road. I have seen city people move out to the country and start collecting strays, only to have me shoot every single one when they packed up and chased my cows.

So one of my Rules of Ranching is "Shoot Any Dog In Your Pasture that you do not recognize and Shoot all dogs chasing stock."

I dont shoot coyotes. I have never seen a coyote chase a calf or cow nor have I found their tracks around a freshly killed calf. They will scour a calving pasture looking for afterbirth, but they give the cows a wide berth.

People who oppose the killing of dogs miss the horrible suffering of the calf and mother cow when a dog or pack of dogs chase and attack. Most dogs lack the knowledge to kill their prey cleanly and usually gnaw the calf to death. This can take hours. One dog will hold the nose and the others will chew on the calf, sometimes from the anus in, while the calf screams. Sick calves in the pens will be chased mercilessly until they are knocked down or collapse from the stress. This is very terrifying for them.

Those who don't see the cow's side of things are blindly choosing the dog's side. As I mentioned in another post, as a rancher you must empathize with your stock to take care of them well. I feel their terror as clearly as you would watching a movie about Freddy Kreuger chasing some Coed around a house. But its not funny and its not titillating, either.

I love cats - my barn cats are fat and sleek, but they are also fixed. My house cats sleep on me every night. However, feral cats hunt Quail and Dove and lots of songbirds. Most studies done in Texas show their tummies full of tweety bird. So now my Rule has added "and Cat" to the above.

Its life and death. So support your local cows and join them in saying "Shut Mor Dawgs" and Kats.