County Sheriff’s Office ‘advises’ resident to not shoot domestic cats

A resident of Kalispell, Montana (or somewhere in the jurisdiction of the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office) telephoned the police to tell them that his neighbour had shot his cat and that the same person might have shot another neighbour’s cat. It appears that the neighbourhood has a trigger-happy resident who doesn’t like domestic and stray cats and believes that he has the right to shoot them dead at his discretion if they wander onto his property.

The Daily Inter Lake online newspaper based in Kalispell, Montana reports that the man with a gun was advised by the police that there are ‘alternative ways to handle cats that wander onto his property’.

And that was that. The report clearly indicates that it is not a crime to shoot dead a domestic cat that wanders onto your property or that it is crime but the police aren’t bothered about it.

There is nothing online from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks that tells me that it is acceptable to shoot cats under these circumstances. Dogs can be shot by authorised personnel if the dogs are harassing wildlife.

My research tells me that there are no statutes in America allowing home owners to shoot their neighbour’s cat if they come onto their property. As the sheriff rightly said there are alternative methods.

The troubling aspect of the story is that the Flathead County police appear to have decided that it is not worth the bother to investigate the cat shooting which must be the crime of criminal damage (when the cat is owned by someone) and almost certainly animal cruelty as well.

Under Montana’s statute: MCA § 45-6-101, a person commits the offense of criminal mischief if the person knowingly or purposely injuries, damages, or destroys any property of another or public property without consent. Domestic cats are considered property under the law.

What are the consequences? When minor crime is ignored by the police it can encourage major crime. The cat owner has been told in effect that he can’t have a cat companion unless he keeps them inside the home because if and when he gets a replacement that cat might be shot as well. By not investigating the crime the police are changing the law.

Note: this is a news/opinion article. If you have a different opinion please tell me but make it polite and well reasoned please.

SOME PAGES ON CRIMES:

Bowie - a cat shot accidentally by a foolish person firing a gun in an adjacent apartment

Comments

County Sheriff’s Office ‘advises’ resident to not shoot domestic cats — 2 Comments

Albert Schepis on January 26, 2020 at 7:41 pm said:
Montana is another one of those states that are morally and intellectually bankrupt when it comes to animals. That is where the infamous cat killing “veterinarian” Kristen Lindsey was born and raised too. (She shot Tiger, a neighborhood cat and patient of the vet hospital where she worked, in the head with an arrow on April 15, 2015 in Brenham, Texas and bragged about it here on facebook). If that is what they think is proper attitude and behavior of a veterinarian, imagine what horrors are allowed regular people. I advise everyone to just boycott Montana until they, for the most part, die out, dry up and blow away.
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- Michael Broad on January 27, 2020 at 2:39 am said:
  Thanks for reminding me of Kristen Lindsey. Yes she is entirely unsuited to being a vet. Animal welfare is about attitude isn’t it? And it is interesting that an entire state can have the wrong attitude.
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