Feral Cat Resolution on Hold in Hawai'i's Kaua'i County

[XemaSab]

Advocates for Hawai'i's imperiled native birds are applauding a decision by the Kaua'i County Council to set aside a resolution that would have endorsed a feral cat management program and resulted in further bird mortality in a state already known as the bird extinction capital of the world.

A council committee voted 4-3 to recommend approval of a “Trap, Neuter, and Release” feral cat control program on Kaua‘i, but the full County Council voted unanimously not to act on the resolution.

“Our efforts are focused on those without voices in this issue, the ‘a’o (Newell’s Shearwater) and the ‘ua’u (Hawaiian Petrel); the Nene and the Hawaiian monk seal. Fisherfolk and other traditional practitioners are concerned that we are seeing the very last of some of these species. The populations of these birds are so small that many on Kaua’i, including Hui Ho’omalu I ka ‘Ᾱina, are working hard to save the last few. To support any effort to return predators to their habitat is, in my mind, criminal,” said Makaala Kaaumoana, Vice-Chair of Hui Ho’omalu I ka ‘Ᾱina, a community-based organization founded by Hawaiian cultural practitioners in 1983 to restore, and preserve Kauai’s natural and cultural resources. Members of the Hui include native Hawaiian practitioners, community leaders, educators, and other Kauai residents who are actively involved in efforts to protect Kauai’s biological and cultural treasures, including the Newell’s Shearwater and Hawaiian Petrel for future generations.

“As beautiful as Hawai‘i is, the fact remains that Hawaiian native birds have been under siege like no other birds in the world. There were once 113 bird species that lived only in Hawai‘i; seventy-one are now extinct. The islands still boast an astounding 43 endemic (birds that only reside only in one area) bird species, but 33 of these (75%) are now federally endangered. Several are on the brink of extinction, and ten have not been seen in years,” Wallace said.

http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/110628.html

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. Trap, Neuter, Release programs will eventually bring down a feral

cat population, but not quickly enough to preserve the endangered birds. Once the cats are trapped and neutered, they need to be impounded in no-kill shelters and made available for adoption. The shelters are expensive, but weighed against the loss the indigenous bird population I should think they could come up with the money.

Consider: if a human poacher was trapping and selling endangered birds, he'd get years in jail at $40,000/yr for maintenance. What is the maintenance cost of a feral cat in a no-kill shelter? $400/yr? Why can we afford to put a person away at 40k/yr, and not afford to put a cat away at 1% of that cost?