View Full Version : PETA in Wisconson -- Our side needs help?
I picked this up off a flyfishing site. Don't know if it is the truth or not. Can someone in Wis check it out?
Most of you have probably already heard about this,
but if not, I thought I'd post it just to let everyone
know what's going on.
John Komassa, a Department of Natural Resources
employee was criminally charged recently because
he killed a cat. He was trying to remove a feral cat
from a state trout fish hatchery, but was forced to
kill it for a rabies test after it bit him. Dane County
Assisistant DA Paul Humphery has filed criminal
charges against Mr. Komassa for the mistreatment
of animals.
Mr. Komassa was checking on 350,000 wild brook
and brown trout eggs icabating in a building. He saw
a cat in the building (no collar). He tried to chase
the cat out of the building, but lost sight of it. Mr.
Komassa became worried that the cat could knock
over a battery assembly or the power cords inside
the building, thereby jeopardzing the trout eggs.
The next day Mr. Komassa saw the cat again. He
saw pools of urine, some feces, and a trout pellet
bag torn open. He searched and found the cat, at
which time he again tried to chase the cat out of
the building. It ran into a furnace room, and he
closed the door. He then went and got a pair of
heavy leather gloves. Mr. Komassa went in, grabbed
the the cat, and tried to release it outside. The cat
bit him and drew blood. He was affraid of rabies and
knew that health officials would need a brain sample
to test the cat. Fearful the animal would escape
again, he struck the cat with a piece of aluminum
tubing, killing it.
A few days later, the Dane County Human Society
investigated the incident, and at the insistence of
the Wisconsin Chapter of PETA, went to the DA. Mr.
Komassa was then charged with the criminal
mistreatment of animals. The maximum penalties he
faces include a $10,000 fine and 9 months in jail.
Because this is criminal charge, the state DNR
cannot defend him. He has spent $3500 defending
himself, and the Dane County chapter of PETA is
lobbying heavily for the DA to convict and sentence
him in the harshest manner possible.
A bunch of us on the Lake-Link site have started a
petition for the Dane County DA to drop the suit
against Mr. Komassa. If you'd like to sign the
petition, please visit:
http://www.petitiononline.com/jjkvswis/petition.html
Also, you can email the DA's office at
blanchard@co.dane.wi.us.
------------------
LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL
There has been a defense fund established. For
those who wish to make a donation to the John
Komassa Defense fund,
Checks can be made payable to: Meyer Law Office
Mark "John Komassa Defense Fund" on the memo
line
The address is:
Meyer Law Office
10 East Doty St.
Suite 507
Madison, WI 53703
Should John Komassa be acquitted, he may seek
compensation through the Wisconsin claims board.
If this were to happen, all of the defense money
Collected will be donated to the "Fishing Has No
Boundaries" organization.
John's preliminary hearing is set for April 5th. He
hasn't been convicted yet, so now is the time to
act!
Its not only Peeeeta
03-20-2002, 11:41 PM
Ask me again why I left the great comunist liberal party state of wisconsin? I think the DA should be dismissed for even filing the charges. Liberal tree huggin commies.
LakeRat
03-21-2002, 12:09 AM
The Humane Society might have looked into it and so might have PETA, and they well may have brought it to the Dane Co. D.A., but, the Dane County Sheriff's Department and County Humane Officer (different than the Humane Society) would be the ones looking into the matter. They would need to request the DA to draw up a Criminal Complaint against the guy and set a hearing date for an initial appearance. Assuming that this happened and assuming that the plea was Not Guilty, a bond would be set and a Trail Date set.
As to the State defending him, not likely if they maintain that he "acted outside his scope of authority" (did something their policies do not call for or violated one). He will have to get his own lawyer and possibly the Union attorneys might also provide assistance. Another question would be if he was disciplined at work for the action.
If he can sufficiently demonstrate that he had no alternative but to kill the cat to catch it after he was bit, he is in good shape. Gary Engberg had a good article in March Midwest Outdoors Magazine, on the Feral Cat problem in Dane County, so based on that reading, I imagine that anything there is possible with the liberal wahoo's running that show.
March 17,02 from the Wisconsin State Journal
BYLINE: George Hesselberg
John Komassa does not think of himself as a "state employed cat killer."
That's how the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals think of him.
Komassa since 1998 has grown fish for the Department of Natural Resources at the multimillion-dollar Nevin Fish Hatchery in Fitchburg. He is the director of the half-million fish-a-year hatchery, which doesn't mean he sits at a big walnut desk all day. Komassa is a hands-on manager, which is part of the reason PETA wants his hide...
Update: Case #01cm005193 filed 12/27/01 in Dane County Circuit Court
04-09-2002 8:30AM Room 316, 266-4325 Jury trial Judge:Fiedler, Patrick J
Looks like the story is real, now, how about the money end of it?
punch1
03-21-2002, 06:13 AM
Unbelievable as it sounds, but the story is true. It can be viewed in its entirity here:
http://pub31.bravenet.com/forum/fetch.php?id=9800445&dir=2&usernum=2641884167
Pat
BAMBAM
03-21-2002, 06:35 AM
There is a petition going around that you can sign to stop this nonsense.
Take a look for yourself.
http://www.petitiononline.com/jjkvswis/petition.html
A feral cat problem in the most liberal county outside Kommifornia??? I thought the liberal types were all for spaying and nuetering their "companion animals" and whole heartedly into adopting several cats and giving them a good home? How can it be all these cats are running wild there? Is it that, like anything a liberal does, they can't even do thast right?
Otter
03-21-2002, 06:44 AM
Do we have to be from Dane County or Wisconsin, or can anyone sign the petition?
I almost didn't post this because I didn't think it could be true.
These people are sending members to congress and voting for president like the rest of us????
vetspet(ind)
03-21-2002, 07:10 AM
sent my letter stating that my advice would be to send the cats' head in for a rabies examination....had a similar case at my clinic several yrs ago...animal rights person....ended up with the only complaint professionally against me in 27 yrs as a veterinarian....they did not win the case but it was distressing....these people are not rational in the same sense that we would deem "rational"....they literally think that the cats' life is as valuable as a human's.....steve
sdmike
03-21-2002, 07:15 AM
I don't understand why counties give an individual to go out and be in charge of only animal violations. Waste of valuable resources (taxpayer money). If its such a grievious violation a standard run of the mill sheriff or police officer could just as well investigate violations and render an opinion as to whether a violation was made. Sometimes I think the Michigan Militia is on the right track concerning what our govt. does. On a lighter note see the previous post concerning cat hair removal for the inside of boats.
sdmike
Water Dog
03-21-2002, 07:29 AM
When these nutballs go on their (Witch Hunts) ,it is usually to completely destroy someones career .
To them , anything goes including perjury , to obtain their goals .
They know that no public official wants to be seen as weak on animal rights .
The thing that amazes me, consistently, is the lack of understanding of animals and the balance of nature displayed by the people at PETA and the Humane Society(funny how humane these bozos are-use stray animals to raise funds for lobbying against hunting, then kill the animals that raised their money after being in the shelter for a week). What is most unfortuante is that ANYONE still listens to them. They just are not credible. PETA is definately an "animals above humans" group that sees us(humans) as a nuisance on this planet.
mossbos
03-21-2002, 08:50 AM
#1065
Dirt Track Fisherman
03-21-2002, 08:53 AM
found this on go fish ohio,those peta folks need something done to them,
http://66.216.66.212/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20450
tshot
03-21-2002, 10:34 AM
Al Quaeda?, Al Peta?,...... same animal!
It speaks loudly when the spokesperson for an organization is Pam Anderson. I like to look at her, but if she said nothing, it wouldn't matter. Other spokespeople for them are of the same caliber(no pun intended).
Perfume Guy
03-21-2002, 11:53 AM
No matter how pretty Pam Anderson is you cannot get enough perfume to cover that rotting smell that follows her and her type wherever she goes. That smell is our way of life rotting.
Lund AnglerMJ
03-21-2002, 12:20 PM
These people are the domestic terrorists we need to rid our great country of. If that cat bit me,in the same way I'd do the same,not out of anger,but concern that rabies could be present.He did too.Please read the Bible-the first book;Genesis;1:26.This tell's it all.It's not just a bunch of story's it's the truth. So PETA get over it,and a cat's life is important,yes but has no comparison to the man's.After the bite,the next reasonable response is concern for one's self.
He asked for it
03-21-2002, 12:39 PM
Grow up folks what he did was just plain wrong. I am not a cat lover by any means, I agree that this is totally insane but what he did was just plain WRONG The stinking cat was already in a room where it could be confined what he should have done is closed the door and called an ambulance and animal control so that the proper athourities could take care of this in the proper way.
NO SUPPORT FROM ME
Dutchman
03-21-2002, 12:49 PM
Yes these people are domestic terrorist's and they provide funding for other groups of domestic terrorist's. The US gov. is on to them though, a few nights back the spokesperson for peta was on the oReilly Factor and she openly admitted sponsoring groups that where considered domestic terrorist's, bombers and murderers. The Government raised it's eyebrows when peta attempted to use their contributions to these domestic terrorist's as a tax deduction. There is a special place in H*LL for these folks.
" Fishing is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope "
sdmike
03-21-2002, 01:02 PM
Pamela Andersen-we may not see her very much any more. Its been reported that she contracted Hepatitis C. The bad stuff that kills. Since she is a PETA supporter I'm sure she will refuse all medications to treat her, which has been tested on lab animals. Which is most of them since most of them have to be tested on lab animals per FDA requirements. But knowing her and since she would fall into the elitest group of our country, PETA will put some twist into the story to justify her usage. Just my two cents worth and a hardy laugh. See Ya.
sdmike
Otter
03-21-2002, 02:36 PM
You sound like a PETA trying to get the thread ugly so it gets killed and the petition dies. Forget it and crawl under a rock - with a rabid cat. :-)
spooled
03-21-2002, 02:54 PM
I just got my copy of OUTDOOR NEWS and there was an article on this topic. There was a story not long ago that a tiger had escaped its quarters and had bitten a small child. The child was in danger of contracting rabies. The court ruled that the tiger be killed in order to get a tissue sample from the brain to determine if rabies was present. This was either in Mn. or Wisc. I don't understand why this fella would be prosecuted for protecting his health. He may have been exposed to rabies and if you don't know if the animal had rabies or not you have to go through painful treatments. It must be pretty frustrating for this fella. I would have done the same thing.
NO Support From Me
03-21-2002, 02:55 PM
OH GOD NO!! I am in no way with PETA as a matter of fact I can't stand them. What I am saying is The County, State, is wrong for pursuing this however what John did is also wrong per the laws on the books there were other more correct ways to deal with this ####### cat and he should have gone that route,
Should he loose his Job ? NO
Should He be tried as a ciminal? NO
Should The County / State drop the case? Yes
Is what he did wrong ( BY Law )? YES
Will I provide Support? NO
I just think what he did is wrong, He should be punished in some form but I agree this is nuts
Borch
03-21-2002, 03:12 PM
Spooled,
The story you are referencing occured in MN. They also had a another animal escape(Bear I think but not sure). I believe they have been closed down or in the process of being closed down.
LakeRat
03-21-2002, 03:19 PM
No, he didn't have time to call the Humane Squad, it takes hours to get these people, he didn't need WEEKS of hypo's to stay alive, and the solution was to take the cat! He did.
And he did it legally! If the animal is vicious, it can be killed. The method is not prescribed by law. He popped it a couple of times and it was done. GOOD! The thousands of loose cats in Dane county should be eradicated anyway!
What he did was right! And I am sending him $500.00 for his fight!
PETA, if you are so concerned about mans travisty of the earth, lead the way by committing suicide and ridding the planet of man. Just don't be too discouraged if we are not in a hurry to follow you shallow twits!
Chopper
03-21-2002, 03:49 PM
This guy is used to doing and thinking for himself. When things break or he sees something wrong he fixes it. Hindsight is 20/20 in every case such as this. He probably should have left the cat and got animal control....but he didn't. To have a criminal charge for killing this cat is wrong. I hope the judge throws it out. Policy at his place of employment should maybe be changed to address the situation but this is terrible. I feel for him. I've killed lots of cats the same way caught in my traps......I guess I have to start phoning the humane society or I'll go to jail.
ShadMan
03-21-2002, 05:18 PM
I would like to punish him with a party!!! One ****** Cat off the street!!!!!!!
Northman
03-21-2002, 05:39 PM
I am a cat lover (don't laugh at me guys) and we have 2 cats. If one of my cats or my neighbors or the mayors cats bit me and I suspected rabies, I would whack him over the head with a pipe. My daughters may be upset, but I believe they would rather lose a cat than have their dad foaming at the mouth.
Northman
Are you NUTS!! You can't be serious about him being wrong?? If thats what you really think GOD helps us all!!! I hope like ##### you don't live in wisconsin. We have enough libral cry babies in madison!!! Gheeeez you make my skin crawl!!!!!!!!!!! Tim
scooter
03-21-2002, 06:05 PM
My wife sometimes volunteers at the Humane society here in Milw.she does so because she loves animals.She takes care of the wild animals that are brought in.Mostly birds and squirrels and rabbits but there have been coyotes and racoons.
She likes to do this, and it gives her something to do for a couple of hours during the winter to get away from myself and the kids.She could care less what P.E.T.A or any of the animal activist think or do for that matter.She is oblivouse to it and thats fine with me.But I can tell you for a fact that if that cat bit one of the kids and she thought it had rabbies.Well I think all that would be left of the cat would be a small piece of brain matter.
The post about Wisconsin being liberal are not all true.Us true Wisconsinites for the most part call that cat target practice.Helps us get our deer guns sited in.The liberal ones mostly moved north from that state directly below us ILL.:)
Also I have had my run ins with P.E.T.A. they have sliced tires here during deer season in Northern Kettle Morrain.And I havent grown any fonder of them since.So I will sign and also write the D.A. office on this.
scooter
GR8WTHUNTER
03-21-2002, 06:13 PM
Yes, killing the cay was wrong. He should have taken it alive so some one else could killit to examine the brain. Same result, dead cat. Why should it matter who killed it.
Jigin Joe
03-21-2002, 06:43 PM
What if the cat was about to escape not to be seen again? The guy would have to go through rabies shots which are very painful. What is more humane?
Jigin Joe
03-21-2002, 07:03 PM
Lets all sign the petition that is on this post to help this guy. I am. What if it were you that this happened to. We have to stand together to beat these idiots. United we stand.......
i signed the pet. and e-mailed the D.A. office, i hope they are smart enough to wake up and do the right thing, and no i live no where near Wis. ( THANK GOD ).
Tom}>
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LakeRat
03-22-2002, 03:29 AM
bump
Esox46
03-22-2002, 04:20 AM
To those who still think our sport of fishing is safe from groups like PETA and we are nothing more than a bunch of paranoid alarmists, please read this thread carefully.
PETA is alive, well and well funded and will try to get an innocent man tossed in jail, fined and his rep destroyed because of their silly, petty emotions over a feral cat!
Wait twenty years and we may see people prosecuted for harvesting a 16" Walleye for dinner.
Walizz 1
03-22-2002, 05:08 AM
#1748. Keep it going.
EyeJacker
03-22-2002, 05:42 AM
What is PETA anyway? Is it an acronym for:
"Please Export To Afghanistan"
Jack
no i think its People. Eating. Tasty. Animals hence P.E.T.A.
Tom}>
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Flatlander
03-22-2002, 06:13 AM
What the guy did was illegal by law, he should be prosecuted to the max along with his bosses, thats the way our legal system works "Sue Everybody" that means the Gov. of Cheeseville should go to jail as well because he did not tell the employee that killing cats on the job was wrong
Flatlander
punch1
03-22-2002, 02:05 PM
GREAT NEWS!
WTDY in Madison is reporting that their "source" in the court house says that the charges were dropped. They are reporting that it is unconfirmed but reliable.
Pat
No Support From Me
03-22-2002, 02:37 PM
Glad to hear the charges were dropped hope it's true, but I still think he was wrong.
Please be sure to sign the on-line petition to revoke PETA'S tax exempt status
EyeJacker
03-22-2002, 03:08 PM
That would be good news indeed! Talk about frivolous lawsuits! :)
Jack
LakeRat
03-22-2002, 03:20 PM
No actually the animal can be terminated to prevent escape in the instance of a bite, for the purpose of determining rabies through testing.
However, allowing an animal to run loose and animal dumping are illegal and it would seem that after the Dane county vets treat animals in their clinics, the people setting these domestic animals free are violating the law.
PETA, participating Dane Vetrinarian's and the other feral cat vacinating sponsors should be charged with animal dumping and violations of animals being allowed to run loose.
Those are the criminals.
LakeRat
03-22-2002, 03:24 PM
What is the addy of that online petition to revoke their tax exempt status?
turkey story
03-22-2002, 03:31 PM
check this out:
go on to
www.google.com
enter: trooper turkey chaska
hit search
punch1
03-22-2002, 04:18 PM
LakeRat the PETA petition is here:
www.petitiononline.com/rvkptaex/petition.html
Pat
Tom502
03-22-2002, 04:50 PM
I just checked on the status of this case in the WI Circut COurt database. It is official - as of Friday 3/22/02 the Dane County DA's office has come to thier senses and dropped the charges against Mr. Komassa.
Here is the link:
http://ccap.courts.state.wi.us/servlet/us.wi.state.courts.internet.access.GetJSP?JSP=Case DetailSelector&CountySelection=Statewide&CaseNumber=01CM005193&CountyName=Dane&CountyNumber=13&SessionIdentifier=
Thanks to everyone who helped on this. This is how we have to combat PETA, with a calm approach that points out to the rest of the world just what a bunch of crazies they really are. Makes me proud to be part of the Walleye Central gang. When it was time to stand up and be counted you guys did!!!!
Jigin Joe
03-22-2002, 06:10 PM
Mac
I want to thank you for bringing this to our attention. If you wouldn't have posted it here I probably would not have heard about it in time to try and do anything.
THANKS
ps: Does PETA have to reimburse him for his legal expenses? Do I hear new law?
i just stopped by the link to sign the petetion against them for being tax exempt, what kahonis these jerkoffs have, people we need to give them a major dose of their own medicine, i say to everybody go and sign the petetion and lets see what happens, if nothing else they need to know that we are watching them and that we are capable of and ready to fight back so lets do it cause it could be one of us next.
Tom}>
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fishguy
03-23-2002, 05:14 PM
Peta is in trouble with the IRS , kinda like al capone, they are going down hard. @##$$%^^ Peta. How about PETP--people for the ethical treatment of people.