ColdWaterFshr Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 This has been an entertaining thread. Good grief, Eric1978, take your Ritalin son. I don't have a problem at all with what this farmer did. I'm not sure why he was all choked up crying about it, but thats another issue altogether. Defending your property, in this case, his livestock, is what the law allows for, and it makes sense. I love to know that mountain lions are out there . . . bears, too. But christ, once they become a nuisance, all bets are off. And I don't think we'll have to worry about a mountain lion attacking a human in this state. Makes for a sensational news story, but c'mon.
flytyer57 Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 And I don't think we'll have to worry about a mountain lion attacking a human in this state. Not if everyone is going around shooting mountain lions on sight anyway. There's a fine line between fishing and sitting there looking stupid.
eric1978 Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 Human life is much more important than any animal. Typical backwoods perspective on nature...about as broad as a razor's edge. Think the dead mountain lion agrees with that? And I don't think we'll have to worry about a mountain lion attacking a human in this state. Exactly. So why am I ADHD for pointing out the ignorance when a toothless hoosier shoots a rare and incredible animal for either giggles or to momentarily be the town hero to a bunch of other toothless hoosiers? I'm tired of people killing for the sake of killing. If the darn thing was in his baby's bedroom, then yeah, fire away. But that was hardly the case and we all know it. He tracked it and killed it just to kill it...because he's a redneck with the IQ of a lemming.
ColdWaterFshr Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 Not if everyone is going around shooting mountain lions on sight anyway. Key words there are "on sight". How many confirmed sightings have there been in the last 20 years? What was it, 11 out of thousands of so-called reports?? Look . . . MDC has a Mountain Lion task force and they couldn't begin to tell you where you could go to see even ONE in the wild in our state. Get 100 of your best woodsman buddies, pick a county any county, spend a couple weeks or months combing that county with them, and I bet they come back with out so much as a pebble of cat poop. I'd rally around protecting whatever population of mountain cats we got, but truth be known, all the evidence suggests that we got a transient population of males from other states, at BEST. Getting upset about one farmer popping a cat off with his .22 in defense of his livestock . . . . well, god bless him. Next time I'd suggest he use a larger caliber weapon.
fishinwrench Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 Get 100 of your best woodsman buddies, pick a county any county, spend a couple weeks or months combing that county with them, and I bet they come back with out so much as a pebble of cat poop. But yet we have a "Mountain Lion Task Force" WTF for ? And what is it costing us ? Those fatboys gotta be lonelier than the Maytag man.
NoLuck Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 Looks like TOFU makes some people a little intolerant.
ColdWaterFshr Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 But yet we have a "Mountain Lion Task Force" WTF for ? And what is it costing us ? Those fatboys gotta be lonelier than the Maytag man. I was wondering that same thing myself. I think they get sent out to Ted Turners Ranch a couple times a year on the taxpayers dime. Typical day at the Missouri Mountain Lion Task Force Command Central office. Vern: Any calls about cats today, Joe? (after brewing 3rd pot of coffee) Joe: Nope. I think I'll polish my badge again and do a dart inventory check count again. Billy Rae: Me neither, Vern. I might call Jefferson City later this afternoon to report my . . . . err, findings. Vern: Maybe I'll run up to Sarcoxie and look for some clues.
troutfiend1985 Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 That's sort of what I'm thinking. Dogs frequently kill livestock, and kill many more people each year than mountain lions. I'm not sure that gives me license to kill every dog I see under the guise of protecting myself and my property. Same with deer- they cost farmers plenty, and have been known to attack folks. That doesn't mean I get to shoot every deer I see on sight. There's no evidence the animal was threatening people or livestock, and if it was, there are better ways of dealing with it (call the agent, at least that way it's on the up-and-up.) This guy instead chose to kill a protected species- that's a crime, and IMO he ought to be treated like any other poacher. First, this mountain lion had killed several calfs according to the KC Star. Second, dogs and mountain lions are substantially different in that dogs are domesticated and mountain lions are wild predators. Also, decr lack the propensity for danger that a wild predator has. Why are you comparing dogs and deer, both of which are common to this area, to Mountain lions, which most people are unfamiliar with? And what was this guys options? Call the MDC and have them tell you that Mountain Lions don't exist in Missouri unless you yourself have evidence of their existence(this is basically what they told my brother)? This guy lets his grandchildren play in the backyard, this Mountain Lion was in the backyard and had already taken several calfs and the MDC doesn't exactly show too much interest in these types of situations, so what is he to do? Not that I think you should shoot mountain lions on sight, but that is not what this individual did according to the KC Star. I think what really needs to happen is that the MDC needs to get off their butt and start telling people what the current situation of mountain lions are in Missouri, what to do when you see one and what threats/non-threats these animals pose. To me, the real culprit was not the man with the gun, but the agency that has continued to show a lack on interests in addressing the concerns of their citizens about this animal. “The greatest menace to freedom is an inert people” J. Brandeis
NoLuck Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 TroutFiend, You are correct about the MDC's stance on Mt.Lions. They repeatedly try to debunk any sighting as a yellow lab or a big housecat or a big bobcat. I know a few hunting buddies that have seen them in MO and I have absolutely no doubt that they are telling the truth. The farmer had every right to take this cat out if it was preying on his cattle. I don't think that anyone should shoot one to just shoot it though. Regardless where this cat was ran from by the dogs chances are that this was THE cat doing the damage to his herd of cattle. If we had a big population of cats then I would say that there would be a smaller chance, but with the circumstances the way that they are it probably was the one doing damage.
Root Admin Phil Lilley Posted January 4, 2011 Root Admin Posted January 4, 2011 ok guys. I have a half notion to delete this thread. You've gone beyond attacking to threatening to shoot someone... any more of that and I'll start deleting memberships.
Recommended Posts