Violence
My home is in a very rural area in the US with no spay/neuter laws or animal control. It is also down a road that is the local traditional dumping ground for unwanted animals. We have our dogs, cats, and poultry here in a fenced area. Generally, strays can be chased off by shooting roman candles in their general direction. However, some are persistant. I’m looking for a workable alternative to feeding stubburn strays a cheeseburger before shooting the stray in the back of the head.
I cannot start fostering dogs for the same reason I cannot buy legos. It would get out of control. Also, I’d rather not burdon someone else with taking these dogs away to cage them for a few weeks before killing them.
This sucks.
deleted by creator
Trying to rehome strays here is like selling irrigation equipment in Seattle. People try and their backyards are full of crates or a grid of small runs.
deleted by creator
By alternative, do you mean a more efficient kill solution or what exactly are you looking for?
Good question! Mostly this post was searching for validation that I am not a souless monster for shooting kittens and dogs. It hurts so much.
I have had to cull stray dogs that had formed packs and were harassing the livestock. You gotta do what you gotta do. If they are acting destructive enough that you can’t just leave them be then they are likely a risk to people too. It is good not to enjoy these things. I would rather shovel shit personally. Good luck.
It sounds like you’re doing the right thing, thank you.
If you were in Australia, everyone would be patting you on the back for shooting stray cats, they’re recognized there as a wildly destructive burden on the ecosystem.
They’re just as destructive anywhere, so you’re actively saving the environment and helping to solve a huge problem that most of society continually ignores.
I certainly appreciate what you’re doing.
Man reading this thread makes me feel pretty thankful my grandfather has a big barn that he primarily uses as antique car storage so people tend to think it’s abandoned and as a result my grandfather has been making his old farm into a cat sanctuary and selling cats when ever he finds he has too many to take care of but since his nabor has been keeping his cows on my grampas property folks are dropping less cats at the old barn
Is there a humane society or other shelter near you? If you let them know the situation they might be able to help you out and take them in to be adopted. If not you could solicit social media for people to foster or adopt abandoned animals. Aside from that, I guess you could put up a fence to keep them away but that’s probably about it, short of using them as target practice.
We live in pretty much the same situation as op, the only shelters near us charge $75 to drop off a pet unless you live in the city.
Last time we did it we lied about our address and name the guy obviously didn’t believe us but took the dog.
Target shooting is important. Poking paper keeps my booger hook smooth. That’s just so that I can be responsible when needed. Every fall my deer don’t need tracked. Clean shot or no shot.
The solution I heard the most of was poisoned food. I don’t know which poison is good though. For babies, I’ve heard about putting in bag and then in the water.
Rural life can be very cruel. It’s a privilege of sheltered city dwellers to think that animals should always be protected and taken care of. There’s no such thing as the harmony of nature, it’s just brutal and cruel.
Thankfully I have a more humane method than poison or drowning.
When I was a kid my dad would trap local stray cats, drive 50 miles away and then release them. If you have a forest a fair distance away you could do the same. It’s not a great solution, but it’s something.
Basically, I live in that place your dad dumped the animals.
Collect the forest strays, dump them in the suburbs. The circle of life.
Its in fact, no solution at all.
