Scientific data — accurate or not, depending on who's talking — is presented that would seem to support the idea of regular cat hunts. It was determined approximately how many stray/wild/feral cats live in rural Wisconsin; the data were extrapolated to show how many birds were killed annually by said cats. This was seen as detrimental to Wisconsin, with killing cats seen as the best way to preserve their bird community.
Over the course of the hour we meet characters that range from a man who apologetically traps and drowns cats, an organization that runs Dontshootthecat.com, as well as groups that have so-called spayathons, where vets donate their time to spay and neuter feral cats before they are either returned to where they were found or sent to live on farms. All points of view are examined, and I was left with the thought that randomly killing these cats would be a very silly thing to do, but that something does need to be done to address all of the cats.
Quite frankly, I was surprised at just how many cats they had running around out there. I can see how some would consider them a nuisance. Still, I cannot advocate the wholesale slaughter of cats.
Audio/Video. This is not a big budget affair, and the tech quality reflects that. However, the mediocre quality does not detract from the film, so do not judge it based on this fact. It is not bad by any stretch, and the quality material makes up for any technical deficiency.
Extras. The extras are comprised of deleted scenes that total somewhere in the vicinity of 45-50 minutes. Among these scenes is 14 minutes of additional footage from the hearings, as well as a history through ballistics. Some would have been fine had they been left in the feature, while a few were cut for obvious reasons once you see them.
Bottom line. This is an entertaining and informative documentary that takes a look at an issue that garnered national attention due to its incendiary nature. It is well made and contains plenty of information to help the viewer make their own decision. Definitely worth your time.
Recommended.
The DVD will be available through Prolofeed Studios.
Article comments
1 - Jen
Great review as usual, Chris... but yikes, that is scary indeed! You know, I vaguely remember hearing about this-- maybe in one of those "news of the weird" radio mentions but when you actually spell it all out, it seems quite insane that it's actually happening.