I was appalled to see this on the MSN website, especially from someone who should know better. Even if there was a local problem with feral cats, this behaviour is unacceptable. It seems the ladette culture isn't confined to Europe and the offensiveness is primarily about the bragging by this nasty female of an act of cruelty.
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/vet-posts-pic-of-cat-she...
In the UK shooting any living creature with a bow is illegal.
Comments
It Doesn't End There
A couple of hunters in Arkansas posted pictures with their cat kills, resulting in similar outrage. I think lifetime loss of hunting privileges is the appropriate response. They don't deserve to be hunters; not that I particularly find hunting an admirable venture. Wouldn't it be neat if they could shoot back. I saw an article earlier today about a "Great White Hunter" who was killed by a testosterone fueled bull elephant. Serves him right.
Portia
Let me work as devil's advocate for a moment...
If by "feral" she meant a cat with rabies - then it is just a case of badly placed boasting. Animals with rabies are dangerous. To people. So who you will prefer dead? Terminally ill cat or someone's child?
If by "feral" she meant "wild" then... Well ordinary cats are not protected species (while I think they should be as they do too much good controlling rat population). So there is nothing legally wrong with hunting and killing a cat. Again, a case of badly placed boasting.
(if it actually was a someone's cat - she is wrong on oh so many levels... But let's wait for court verdict... On the other hand I've seen veterinarians who just hated cats. One such wanted to kill our cat while getting loads of money for surgery... Cat lived another 6 years without that surgery and died close to 19 years of age. And veterinarian tried to sell us idea that cat will die in 3 to 7 days without that surgery...)
in the US feral is mainly
used as a term for wild animals who were or are a pet species gone back to the "wild". never really heard of it used for an animal with rabies before. yes people can hate certain types of creatures, spiders is a big one, snakes, insects in general. but killing an animal, WITHOUT official authority (animal control etc) is usually illegal in most communities, because it has happened time and again that someones pet (either no collar or it came of, etc) is the victim. heck in a lot of places its illegal to shoot a bow in the city limits, or a gun except under certain circumstances (defense of your life, etc) as an archery enthusiast (unfortunately due to arm issues not currently practicing archery) i know this for a fact, but it does vary by city, i am sure in Texas, and a lot of southern states it is legal, and she could live in the county jurisidiction which has laws that are generally looser than a municipalities.
Teresa L.
Check the Dictionary
Feral is a term for a normally domestic species that has gone wild. It has nothing to do with rabies. There are feral cats, dogs, and pigs. This cat murderer has a screw loose and represents what is wrong with a large portion of the American population. This cat murderer assumed the cat was feral. She is obviously an ailurophobe, a cat hater. Her next step would probably be to shoot a homeless man going through the trash to find something to eat. One hunts only legal game. At least that is the way it is in this country and many others.
Portia
Problem is - cats are not endangered species.
So it is not illegal to hunt them in the wild in most jurisdictions and/or countries.
As for rabies... Feral has a nasty sound to it as in something very dangerous. And in some articles I've encountered 10-15 years ago feral dogs and rabid dogs were interchangeable. And dictionaries were also confused/confusing...
A major indicator of the root cause.....
Lies in the fact that in many states, if you kill a dog (for instance by hitting it with your car) you are required to remain at the scene and notify the police. If you kill a cat the same is not true; cats, and their owners, are not given the same consideration.
Dallas
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
Wrong?
NOTE: This was written in reply to a comment that has since been removed.
". . . what is wrong with a large portion of the American population." Sorry, I have to disagree with you. American culture is different from British culture, and that varies from "European" culture (if such a thing exists). Ownership of firearms, bows & arrows, swords, or knives is not unique to the US. Remember Cathy and her bow? It is not the weapon, it's the user. No country in the world has a monoply on people with aberant mental abilities, this could have happened in most any country.
And this line, "Her next step would probably be to shoot a homeless man going through the trash to find something to eat." really doesn't deserve to be treated with any form of respect.
I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.
Feral means wild in Dallas - Fort Worth
She was hunting feral cats. This particular cat may have been the pet of an elderly couple. In this area there are groups that trap feral cats to fix and release them so that the feral population does not grow. You can sign up to be a caretaker of a feral colony and you are responsible for feeding them and doing a periodic census. Any kittens from feral cats are to be caught and placed for adoption. Visit http://www.feralfriends.org/ for more information in the Dallas area. There are also vets http://www.texasforthem.org/ that provide low cost and no cost spay/neuter and vaccinations for both pets and feral cats to aid in controlling the population. Hunting them is NOT an option. The vet with her trophy picture has been fired is being investigated both by the medical board and the police.
Public reaction
This reminds me of how wrong individuals can be in gauging public reaction. Did she really imagine flaunting her cat killing would produce a laugh? On the converse side those transitioning expect the worst of reactions while in real life they are mostly barely noticed unless they happen to be young and ‘hot’.
Rhona McCloud
She was fired
She was apparently fired from her job.
Gwen
And her employer shot itself in the leg.
If she had not commited any crime as per local laws, and was terminated while being good at her job, her employer is in forma lot of pain from lawyers and courts. You can't just fire a person whomdone something you don't like. If her killing of a cat constitutes crime or misdemeanor, then there are ways to fire person more or less painlessly. But still firing is a dangerous game. She can, for example, come out as a single mom and claim that actually it was plain old discrimination.
I doubt that
She is a veterinarian, the business can easily say, that her continued employment would be detrimental to their business. She is boasting about killing a cat, would you take your pet to her?
Texas is only one of thirteen states that have laws that mention feral cats:
And you might want to peruse this: https://www.animallaw.info/statute/tx-cruelty-consolidated-c...
All we know about her
is that she killed a cat and was tasteless enough to brag about it on a public forum. Neither has any particular bearing on whether or not she is a competent and reliable veterinarian. Expertise and a good work ethic matter more to me than what idiocy somebody has posted on Facebook.
If you ask if I'd want to hang out with her and share stories about our respective beloved pets - nope. Not a chance. But I seriously doubt her professional judgement is as poor as her social judgement, or she would have lost her job long ago.
What we know of her is...
that she was a vet and had access to drugs and processes to humanly destroy an animal. House cats are not game animals, unlike deer, wild boar, turkeys (the feathered kind), elk and others, so shooting it in the head with an arrow is cruel treatment. The only justification for killing a small animal like this would be defense of self or others. Glad to know the office she worked at fired her. And YES, depending on the state, she can be fired at the whim of the owner of the business, and I do not choose the word "whim" lightly.
The state where I live employment is considered "at will", in other words, at the will of the employer (unless you're under some other form of protection, such as a union ). You can easily be terminated for any reason, or no reason.
Employment laws
An internet search reveals Texas, the state where this incident took place, is an "employment at will" state. This means unless her employer had contractually agreed otherwise, she could be fired for almost any reason, or no reason at all. ("Almost" meaning leaving out being fired for race, gender, etc.)
feral animals
Many municipalities have leash laws. Where I live, if it's loose and off the owner's property it is considered feral by law. All a person needs is a hunting license to take them down (no season). Domestic animals may also be classified as invasive species this removes more protections from them.
Living in baltimore
We have issues with feral or alley cats. There is a local non profit that does a catch and release. They trap the cat, have them fixed, and then release them. I have a serious issue with killing domestic animals. As a society, we as humans, domesticated the cats and dogs, and I feel that as a society, we have a responsibility to care for them. There are more humane ways of dealing with nuisance animal populations that going around and killing them. Even if it means capturing and relocating them.
I've got a Feral Cat
My Feral cat lives in my greenhouse and is very welcome to do so as she controls the rat and mouse population very efficiently.
You can't get anywhere near her and I know she's a she because she's raised a litter - now should I get someone in to trap her so I can get her spayed or should I leave her entire.
My dog's only went near once and came away the worse for the meeting 'she don't take prisoners!"
Christina
Find a local trap/neuter/return group for assistance
Find a local trap/spay/release group for assistance. That way she can live out her life in your greenhouse but not produce any more litters. Most of the groups will loan you a trap and give advice. They do not usually do the trapping for you. It took us two years and five litters to finally trap the feral cat in our backyard. Now she is in our living room. She doesn't seem to have any desire to go back outside. It took so long to trap her because she watched us trap the kittens so she knew what the trap was. We had to get a drop trap to finally catch her.
Friends of mine discovered a
Friends of mine discovered a pair of cats living under their home and in their garage. The very young female had a litter of four kittens. After talking to their vet, they waited until it was safe for both the mother and kittens, and trapped both cats, then collected the kittens. The older tomcat, had been neutered, and declawed on the front paws, then dumped. The female was very likely born wild. They gave away the kittens, and kept the two older cats. The tom is very friendly, and the female shy, but she has gotten much better and eventually comes out to visit.
a couple of points
In the U.S., "employment at will" is the general rule. You can be let go at any time for any reason or no reason, apart from some protected classes of people. (Trans isn't consistently among those.)
This story is from Texas. Nuf said.
Finally, for those hit by domestic violence, the national hotline in the U.S. is 800-799-7233 and the folks there can help you make a safety plan.