***GRAPHIC IMAGES*** Dead Predator...Dead Goat.

[greybeard]

If a neighbor's dog got in and killed or injured livestock, I would catch the dog, return it to the owner and demand payment for the loss.

Things are a little different here.
My neighbors and I are all in 100% agreement. Any of our dogs chase, harass or kill any of each other's livestock, they're toast. Any deviation from that would be an unexpected courtesy and the only favor I and my neighbors have asked is to let each other know so we can come pick up & dispose of the body same as would be done if it died of natural causes on our own property.

That may seem cruel, but the fact is, if a (my) dog will cause harm to someone else's stock, they will also do it to that of the dog's owner if he (I) isn't around to prevent it.
Having said that, most dogs can be trained not to run livestock, but they all still have the ancient instinct to do so. So far, I haven't lost a dog due to livestock harassment, they pretty much stay home.

 

[greybeard]

What if your most loved pet got away from you and scared another's livestock just because it was there. Would you want it killed?

Want? Not really.
but understand and accept it is going to happen if they do? Yes.
In this state, anyone that sees any canine chasing, harassing, or injuring any livestock or poultry can shoot it. Doesn't have to be the owner of the livestock or poultry either...anyone driving down the road and sees it happening is legally entitled to stop his vehicle, get out, and pull the trigger. No hunting or firearm lic required and the law protects the shooter from legal or civil liability. That's the law.

I found one of my dead females with a bullet in her side on her way home to her 2 weeks old kittens.

On her way home from where?
I lived in town one time, and every time I went out to weed the flowerbeds ended up with a handful of cat crap. People need to keep their pets ON their own property at all times.

OTOH, pets running the neighborhoods are something dog catchers love to see. Job security!

 

[B&B Happy goats]

I have many, many feral cats around my farm and 7 outside cats of my own right now. We also have two hunting dogs that wander onto our property hunting rabbits but not one loss of my animals has been because of them. I have known of plenty of killings because of dogs around other areas though. I have lost many chickens to raccoons, chickens and cats to a bobcat. I have never lost a chicken to my own or feral cats. We have too many rabbits, chipmunks and other rodents. The only problem I have with feral cats is the reproducing. I have had 28 cats at one time. We don't have a program here to help fix reproduction in farm cats.

Not beating up on you ....if you claim them to be your cats, then it is your responsibility to get them fixed....if they are just feral cats ...they should be removed and rehomed after being fixed., feral cats can spread disease to your cats and are a pain in the butt to the rest of us that have them pissing on our porch, pooping in our gardens or stalking baby chicks...let alone getting into the garbage. If you let the feral cats continue staying there then they are your responsibility. ....if i got a infestation of mice, rats or bees...i would have to pay to get rid of them....I certianly hope you find a solution

 

[Missmonty]

Around here we end up with a couple new cats a year, whether they just be true feral or owner dumps. We have programs here to get them spayed/neutered but there still is usually some cost. I just take the approach to get them fixed and I try to rehome them or they earn their keep. My husband is allergic to cats so no cats in our house but we don't mind them living in our barns as they really help keep the rodent population down which before we had a big issue with the rodents getting into our feed bags.

I do not like the idea of killing them as well but at some point the property owner needs to take some sort of responsibility. Letting them mass breed is completely irresponsible as it is only continuing the problem. Personally, I couldn't shoot a cat either. So with all that being said I take the steps I can to help the situation. My neighbors also seem to have the same approach as me so it works well for us.

 

[Baymule]

The reason I would return neighbors pets to them is because I know my neighbors and their pets. There are a select few that I would do that for because we are on very good terms and their pets are their babies. I get that. But that would be their one and only chance. There are other neighbors that I would not do that for as I know they are idiots anyway.

 

[greybeard]

I understand that, but personally just can't do that Bay. Choosing whether an animal lives or dies based on whether I like the owner better ( or less) than another smacks of a discriminatory practice I try to avoid at all costs & in all endeavors.

Having said that, I and we as a group should probably move on in this thread. It's direction has pretty much 'gotten off in the weeds' and we are very close to breaking a forum rule regarding not discussing animal rights or groups.
Subject matter can have adverse consequences in regards to whether a placement agency will place ads on the board or not.........they sometimes monitor content (or it is reported to them) ..I've seen it happen in the past elsewhere, and the website owner lost a lot of revenue.

 

[MiniSilkys]

Around here we end up with a couple new cats a year, whether they just be true feral or owner dumps. We have programs here to get them spayed/neutered but there still is usually some cost. I just take the approach to get them fixed and I try to rehome them or they earn their keep. My husband is allergic to cats so no cats in our house but we don't mind them living in our barns as they really help keep the rodent population down which before we had a big issue with the rodents getting into our feed bags.

I do not like the idea of killing them as well but at some point the property owner needs to take some sort of responsibility. Letting them mass breed is completely irresponsible as it is only continuing the problem. Personally, I couldn't shoot a cat either. So with all that being said I take the steps I can to help the situation. My neighbors also seem to have the same approach as me so it works well for us.

Missmonty, What does it cost in Ohio to neuter cats? I know there is a program down in Memphis that fixes farm cats for $25 ea. I would take mine down there but I can't get away. My parents are both disabled. Here it is high as heck. I don't take animal to shelters around, here there are too many problems.

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

Today I was walking the fences as I always do and found a prized 9 month old Spanish doe that had been caught in the fence and looks like this fox and possibly a coyote had disemboweled her and ripped some of her limbs off. We managed to kill a fox and will use the goat and fox remains as coyote bait to kill coyotes. We are declaring war on predators of all kinds...trapping, poisoning, shooting, you name it we are gonna use it plus we are gonna get a low strand of electric fence up as well.

The war against predators there where you at seems very intense.. I choose not to resort to violence but if its that worse i guess we don't t have any other choice.