WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Wisconsin's Governor Says Cat-Killing Proposal 'Not Going Anywhere'

Wisconsin's Governor Says Cat-Killing Proposal 'Not Going Anywhere'

(MADISON, Wis.) -- Wisconsin's governor says he doesn't want his state to be known as the place where people can legally shoot cats.

Governor Jim Doyle says "everybody is kind of laughing" at his state right now -- over a proposal to legalize the killing of feral cats.

The proposal was adopted Monday at meetings of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress -- a public advisory group. It classifies wild, free-roaming cats as an unprotected species that kills songbirds and other wildlife.

Now the measure is headed to the state Natural Resources Board. Then it would have to be passed by lawmakers and signed by the governor.

Doyle says his office has been fielding calls from around the country, denouncing the proposal. He says he thinks "everybody recognizes it's not going anywhere."

South Dakota and Minnesota both allow wild cats to be shot.

Experts say two million wild cats roam Wisconsin, and they kill up to 139 million songbirds a year.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)