The Bundesrat has decided not to forbid the shooting/hunting of feral cats. A motion by Luc Barthasset (CVP-GE) has been rejected.
Apparently it is allowed to shoot a cat if it is at least 200 meters (300 in ZH) from the nearest residential or commercial building, on the grounds that it is feral.
SOS Chats had filed a petition to ban the shooting of feral cats, objecting on the grounds that a hunter could not determine from a distance if a cat was feral or a pet - putting pets cats at risk of being shot. SOS Chats also condemned shooting of feral cats as inhumane - cats were left to suffered a painful, sometimes lingering death.
With the rejection of the motion, the law remains the same: feral cats may be shot all year long.
Here's an eariler article about the rejected motion:
In turning down the motion, the Bundesrat also rejected a 'catch, castrate and release' proposal, something done in many countries as a means to control feral cat or dog populations, as being too costly. The issue would be left to the cantons. (For instance, Argauer Tierschutz practices a catchand castrate scheme: http://www.basellandschaftlichezeitu...sion-105563311 )
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The argument in favor of allowing the shooting of feral cats is overpopulation - there are too many wild/stray cats around.
Yet another reason to ensure that your outdoor cats are neutered, folks... Please consider what could happen to those 'accidental' kitties.
I mean really - you would think there were bigger and more important issues to address. What is it with this obsession of hunting and killing things??
I was out with my dog this week on the edge of a wooded area but close to a main road. A "hunter" came up the track with a rifle and I swear to God it had a laser sighted TV screen. He said he could hit a matchbox at 500 metres. What is the f~~king point of that???!!
Just playing devils advocate here though, if you are going to let idiots carry guns, I would rather they be accurate idiots with Laser/TV screen sighting and actually kill the target rather than injuring and causing untold suffering.
Yes quite shocking really. In fact the main reason is not over-population, but the protection of the wild cat species - as true/pure wild cats do mate with feral cats and hybridise- and there are very few genetically 'pure' wild individuals. My neighbour's cat is a typical example of hybridisation - he is huge (and gorgeous) and was a kitten from a litter at an isolated farm in the woods above us (at about 1100m).
Here all the neighbours know whose cat 'belongs' to whom- so any of the local cats are safe. There are also quite a few farm cats which could easily be identified as 'strays' but I must say I've never ever heard of any being shot or poisoned around here.
Another issue here is the fact that many elderly people still believe that wearing cat fur will 'cure' their arthritis. I have a cat fur inner coat upstairs found in my grandma's wardrobe when she died.
In June, there were 4 notices posted in my neighborhood about missing cats. I don't know if any of them were found. We do live up against some woods and next to a farm, and there is a shooting range nearby. Lots of risks for loose kitties.
How much of Switzerland isn't 200m from a commercial or residential property? Even the top of half the mountains have a café...
Maybe the cats will get their revenge in the end - after several generations of intense selective pressure from hunters, Switzerland could end up breeding a new line of bullet-proof ninja stealth cats with laser-sight reflecting fur. Then they'll be sorry.
One piece of advice given here is to make sure your cat wears a collar in a bright colour- even though it is microchipped, so it is clearly identifiable as a 'home' cat and not a stray. We do not as our Pudding was adopted as an adult, and just wouldn't accept a collar. As said, she is perfectly safe here anyway, as everyone knows she is ours.
In the UK the biggest danger was kids with air riffles shooting at everything that moved in some areas. Not a problem we ever had, thank goodness.
Even cold harted me finds this decision strange. We are talking cats here. By definition, cats are not totally domesticized. The distinction made by law feral/domestic does not exist. They have a law about a fantasy reality about cats. At least some correct facts about the topic should be part of the legal ruling. Big fail even in the name of logic.
I'd guess that the decision to reject the motion might follow the same logic ( ) as the debate around the proposals for dog control laws. In the end, parliament decided that while animal welfare was the competency of the federal government, animal control was to be left to the cantons - so no federal dog laws.
(They got around that to some extent, though, by introducing a few federal-level dog control measures under the Animal Welfare law, the TsSchV. )
But I, too, am puzzled by this decision... and more than a little appalled.
Coming from a land where good-intentioned Europeans (for the most part) have introduced a heap of feral animals that have destroyed habitats of and, in some cases, directly rendered extinct native animals I have no sympathy for feral animals. I'd much rather have native animals, which had existed in a lovely balanced ecology for thousands of years.
That said, I'm also not in favour of killing somebody's pet. So, create a safe outdoor space for your cat. There are heaps of options for outdoor enclosures that give your cat freedom to move inside & outside - without getting out and about to torment the local critters and, at the same time, be at risk of a bullet. For example, a friend's cousin once basically caged half of the backyard - with cat-doors, at various levels (including one from the branch of a tree into the second storey of their house), and different plants for the cats to play in/around/under. The cats were free to be inside or outside, yet still no threat to the local wildlife and safe from harm (cars, bigger wildlife, and people with firearms after feral targets).
You mean that they don't know the difference S between cats and dogs? Wow... in that case, they urgently need professional development days to fill this huge gap in their general knowledge.
I`m a cat-lover, well not exactly a "lover" of cats, but am tolerant of their foibles ...... but ..... my neighborhood is totally overun by cats.
And I have noticed a markable decline in the bird population. There is not a baby bird that seems to escape their attention... or a parent bird seeking food for their fledglings.
I used to have a bird-feeder, and bird-bath ... but dare not anymore, for fear of attracting the odd bird to its death.
These cats are well fed, but will still kill anything smaller than themselves that flutters or moves. Not to eat, just to play with.
They stalk the hedges, shrubs and trees. Each garden has its resident cat lying in waiting for a bird.
Owners go away for holidays or long weekends, leaving their cats to "fend for themselves" off neighbors goodwill ......or the local birdlife.
Okay, so we going to end up with cats cats cats .... and no more birds.
Every little kid wants a pet. And the "easiest" and "cheapest" pets are advertised for .....free ... with photos of the adorable little kittens .....(owners dont seem to have the inclination to sterilize their cats?)
Ever since I moved to Switzerland I noticed all the missing cat posters. Just in the last 4 weeks three cats have gone missing on one street alone. It is more than a bit weird. A friend of mine lives in the French part of Switzerland and she told me that a few years back all the cats disappeared in her small village. The only thing they found was the collars.
I don't think there's anything surprising at all about lots of missing outdoor cats. There's a ton of dangers out there for outdoor cats, I see dead ones all the time on the side of the road, and I imagine that hungry foxes are pretty happy to find a cat during leaner months. I grew up in the country and between wildlife and cars our cats had a lifespan of around 5 years or so.
Honestly, being a homeowner has pretty much turned me into an outdoor cat hater. As a dog owner, I'm used to being responsible for my pet. I pick up his crap, protect him from danger, and prevent him from hurting other animals, damaging other people's property, or bothering people who don't really want to be around dogs for whatever reason. I can't for the life of me figure out how people can send their cats outside and abdicate any responsibility about the animal's safety, the rights and safety of your neighbors and their pets, and the welfare of wild and in many cases threatened and endangered animals. But hey I guess it means you don't have to clean a litter box!