Ex-legislator's position regarding feral cats: `Shoot, shovel, shut up'

By Pete Wicklund

Wednesday, April 20, 2005 2:06 AM CDT

MADISON - When Wisconsin contemplated in 2000 whether mourning dove hunting should be legal, former state Rep. DuWayne Johnsrud stepped up to the plate. He offered morsels of the state's official peace symbol to reporters, who gobbled up the publicity stunt.

Johnsrud, who then served as chairman of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, gained notoriety as national media outlets picked up on the story. A woman from Texas said she wanted someone to shoot him, just so he'd know how it felt.

Johnsrud, a farmer in southwestern Wisconsin, didn't think the threat was funny at the time. But he now seems to get a good chuckle out of the commotion he caused. He never took a bullet, and ultimately, the mourning dove became fair game for Wisconsin hunters.

"So many of them (reporters) didn't realize how great they (mourning doves) were, and how filling they were," Johnsrud said.

Johnsrud, who shoots his mouth off from slightly to the left of far right, just didn't hold his tongue. While he served in the Legislature, reporters found him a refreshing quote. Republican legislative leaders, however, often weren't humored by his verbal friendly fire.

So, as the fur flew last week over a proposal to lift a ban on the shooting of feral cats, I couldn't help but wonder what Johnsrud would have to say.

Would he be offering feral cat snacks?

"Not unless the media requested it," Johnsrud said, noting a reporter prompted him to offer the mourning dove buffet.

Johnsrud is quick to note the Wisconsin Conservation Congress proposal last week wasn't about allowing cat hunting, and it wouldn't create a cat season.

But feral cats probably wouldn't want to scamper too close to Johnsrud's farm in southwestern Wisconsin. He said he shares a philosophy with many rural state residents who deal with feral cats.

"Shoot, shovel and shut up,'' Johnsrud said.

While shooting a domestic cat gone wild sounds cruel, Johnsrud said pet owners who drop their pets off in the countryside are guilty of cruelty to animals. Feral cats reproduce rapidly, sometimes carry disease and kill songbirds, he said.

"Tom cats don't care if it's their mother or their sister. They'll breed 'em," Johnsrud said.

While Johnsrud's promoted hunting of mourning doves, he said feral cats are cruelest to the birds. Feral cats will kill a mourning dove without eating a bite of the animal.

If a farmer treated a song bird like a feral cat treats a song bird, there'd be a price to pay.

"Nothing can get to you more than looking out to see a cat with a cardinal with nice red feathers sticking out of its mouth,'' Johnsrud said.

Johnsrud said he pays little attention to what happens in the Legislature. But he still can't help digging in when it comes to game and animal issues.

On his once-a-week Tomah-based radio talk show last week, Johnsrud issued his "uff da award" to Sen. Scott Fitzgerald. Johnsrud took Fitzgerald to task for supporting the idea of the death penalty while being unwilling to support legalized shooting of feral cats.

The comments aren't likely to gain him favor with Fitzgerald, co-chair of the Legislature's powerful Joint Finance Committee. Then again, Johnsrud doesn't care. He's been busy preparing his fields for planting.

Johnsrud spent two decades in the Legislature, but never served on Joint Finance. Apparently there's no room in leadership for someone who thinks he knows how to handle a feral cat but can't shoot, shovel and shut up when it comes to toeing the party line.

Contact Tom Sheehan at: tsheehan@madison.com

or by phone at (608) 252-6198

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