A Bengal cat shot is Australia (Queensland) is no surprise to me as this cat temporarily went astray and in the State of Queensland feral cats are considered a Class 2 pest animal, which under the legislation of that State can be shot. They call it “Field shooting”.
In New South Wales (NSW) similar provisions are in place. They call it “ground shooting” in NSW. I have made a post about it: Ground Shooting of Feral Cats
This is brutal and ineffective. Feral cats cannot be exterminated like this. A vacuum is created and more feral cats enter the space created (see feral cat behavior vacuum phenomenon). In the instance above the Bengal cat was a pet. His name is Templar and he lives in Bowen, Queensland. He ended up with one of his forelegs amputated. Both fore legs were shot. He dragged himself home using his hind legs. I don’t actually know if this was a case of blatant cruelty or an attempt to shoot a feral cat. The former is illegal and the latter legal, which tells you have poor the legislation is.
The Australians introduced cats into the wild to control other pest in the mid 1800s. Now they are punishing the cat and not themselves for the problem caused. Such arrogance and frankly ignorance. Date: December 2008.
Update: the point I am making is that the elected authorities be they state governments or local authorities have authorized shooting of cats (under certain rules, of course but are these rules followed?). The people voted these people into power. This policy is an expression of the Australian people’s will. That is why I bundle Australians together. Of course not all Australians shoot domestic cats but they (as an electorate, a single body of people, please note) agree the policy of shooting feral cats (some were once domestic cats) in those states where it is legal otherwise the politicians wouldn’t be in power.
It is clearly the wrong course to take and the Bengal cat shot in Autralia story seems to bear that argument out. And to say the British introduced the cat into Australia is wrong. There has been long enough to resolve the feral cat problem, sensibly, and it has been ignored and neglected and in any case once settlers landed on Australia they became Australians.