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Coalition targets animal overpopulatio
<br />3y COLLEEN MARSHALL Mary Walker said. 11
<br />We are really trying to
<br />Nest Hawaii Today work toward helping our island in this terrible
<br />Animal overpopulation has long been a pet overpopulation. There is an average of
<br />woblem across the Big Island, but officials at 15,000-16,000 dogs and cats brought in to
<br />t newly formed coalition are vowing to put our shelters every year."
<br />to end to the issue within five years. The organization, launched in 1999, now is
<br />"Our program is going to help change the working closely with the Hawaii Island
<br />problem," Animal Rescue Coalition of Humane Society and the Hawaii Island
<br />iawaii (ARCH) vice-president and founder Veterinary Association. Walker said the group
<br />14
<br />is awaiting grant money from a national ani-
<br />mal coalition organization, and then will
<br />launch a series of combative programs aimed
<br />at eliminating unnecessary euthanization.
<br />Walker said she designed a similar animal
<br />coalition in Oregon in 1959 and brought the
<br />See SPAY:
<br />, Page 4A
<br />...pay, neuter program
<br />From Page XA
<br />idea to the Hawaii Island Humane
<br />Society after relocating to the island
<br />two years ago.
<br />"It's a real win-win situation,"
<br />Walker said. "I do believe if we can
<br />receive enough money we can suc-
<br />ceed. By five years, every adoptable
<br />pet that enters our Humane Society
<br />will not be put to sleep."
<br />Walker said ARCH will begin
<br />with a free spay and neutering pro-
<br />gram, also offering a $20 reward per
<br />pet brought in for the procedure. She
<br />noted this will help curb population
<br />growth, and as the number of ani-
<br />mals brought to the shelter decreas-
<br />es, more room will become available
<br />to house animals until they are
<br />adopted.
<br />"We, the people of Hawaii, are
<br />already spending this to feed or kill
<br />our animals and now we are just
<br />going to reallocate the funds and
<br />spend it on a more positive pro-
<br />gram," she said.
<br />Although ARCH hopes to end
<br />euthanization, she said, the group is
<br />realistic and noted it still may be
<br />necessary for animals that are
<br />vicious or ill.
<br />A similar program was initiated in
<br />1993 on Oahu, with a volunteer
<br />Trap -Neuter -Release -Manage
<br />(TNRM) coalition working with the
<br />Humane Society to sterilize feral
<br />cats.
<br />Eve Holt, Humane Socie
<br />for of community relations, said it is
<br />difficult to determine accurately
<br />how well the program is working,
<br />but the staff has noticed a dramatic
<br />decline of stray cats being brought in
<br />to the shelter during the last seven
<br />months.
<br />Holt said the TNRM cat colony
<br />caretakers, who feed the animals to
<br />gain trust in order to bring them for
<br />spay or neutering, have reported a
<br />decrease since the program was
<br />started, with reports ranging from
<br />the Chaminade University popula-
<br />tion dwindling from 150 to 50 cats.
<br />They also have reported no kittens
<br />were born during the last few years,
<br />she added.
<br />"We'd really love to be able to say
<br />that we're reaching the point that we
<br />have so many sterile cats that it's
<br />making that big of an impact," Holt
<br />said. "We're hopeful that this spring
<br />will be really indicative of what's
<br />going on."
<br />Walker said while ARCH waits
<br />for funding, members will concen-
<br />trate on current programs.
<br />In August, ARCH launched its
<br />Web site, which features animals
<br />available for adoption, along with
<br />postings for lost and found animals.
<br />"We have placed quite a few this
<br />way," said Jim Hustace, ARCH
<br />president and past president of the
<br />Hawaii Humane Society on Oahu.
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<br />-BARON SEK1W
<br />first steps
<br />said copies of the Web
<br />pages are displayed at public
<br />libraries and shopping areas for
<br />those without Internet access.
<br />Walker said ARCH also has start-
<br />ed a foster care program, where fam-
<br />ilies take an animal from the shelter
<br />and care for it until it is adopted. She
<br />noted they currently have two foster
<br />homes for dogs and three homes for
<br />cats, and are seeking more volunteer
<br />foster families.
<br />The organization's most success-
<br />ful program thus far, Walker said,
<br />was the educational component
<br />which it initiated last summer.
<br />"We taught the children that pets
<br />come with a lot of responsibilities,"
<br />Walker said of Poi Dog Kai two-
<br />week course, offered to youngsters
<br />ages 7 to 11. "We started the pilot
<br />program at Waikoloa School and
<br />discussed animal behavior, why ani-
<br />mals end up at the Humane Society,
<br />animal assisted therapy, and pet
<br />responsibility and care. They also
<br />helped find a home for one of the
<br />dogs from the shelter."
<br />ARCH, recently awarded a Red
<br />Cross "Everyday Hero Award" for
<br />its Poi Dog Kai work, plans to
<br />increase educational programming,
<br />she said.
<br />Contacts:
<br />Telephone: 957-2724.
<br />Web site: www.archawaii.org
<br />
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