is Your Pet Harassing Wildlife? Wyo State Senator Wonders

Is your cat or dog wiping out local wildlife? Humans have a lot of pets. How big of a problem is this, if it is a problem at all.

Wyoming State Senator Ogden Driskill posted on his FaceBook page the reaction he got when he proposed people leash their animals.

"I have been recently attacked by the 'Leash-free' anti trapping crowd in Wyoming about my stance opposing dogs off leashes in our wild areas on public lands. Wyoming’s wildlife deserves to be able to live in their habitat without harassment from domestic animals.  I think they need areas to roam — just not in areas that conflict with our native game herds.  Probably not the most popular stance— but I prioritize native wildlife over domestic animals"

Along with his comments Mr. Driskill posted a link to an article on the subject titled Is there a killer in your kennel? Billions of wild animals fall victim to pet cats and dogs.

In the article on a website called The Conversation they claim that "The dark side of pet ownership is something not usually addressed but in wildlife conservation it has become a burning issue. Last week the Australian government named domestic cats as one of the major threats to its unique wildlife."

Many countries have tried proposing laws to force pet owners to control their animals but as usual it is hard to enforce these laws. The police and game officials have so much to do already.