COM 0022.071 2004-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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April 16, 2005 Bob Jacobson, Council Member Ka'u District 6 Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni St., Suite 209 Hilo, HI 96720 Subject: Rewrite of Bill 4, Drafr 5 -Relating to Animals Reference: 1) Chapter 4, of the Hawaii County Code 1983 (1995 edition) 2) Conversation with Mitchell D. Roth, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, on 04/11/2005 at Keaau Community Center meeting 3) New Rewrite of Bill 4, Draft 5 dated 04/12/2005 (attached) Attn: Bob Jacobson Per a conversation with Mitchell D. Roth at the Keaau Community Center meeting, he had suggested that if anyone does not agree with this bill, that they would be given the opportunity to "rewrite" or "assist in rewriting" the bill to voice any and all community concerns from previous meetings regarding this matter. Due to the increasing population growth on the island of Hawaii, this growth means an increase of pet owners (i.e. dogs and/or cats). Therefore, this bill must be written very carefully and implemented. We feel that biannually this bill should be reviewed because of the ongoing influx of new Hawaii residents and that the bill should be updated accordingly. We believe that it is imperative that all county council members, aides, legislative assistants, prosecutors and any other relevant staff members should consult with dog and cat experts (i.e. veterinarians, canine clubs, feline clubs, breeders, ASPCA, dog and cat sanctuary staff and dog/cat handlers). This would educate and enhance members in drafring a better bill to suit dog and/or cat owners and the public of the island of Hawaii fairly. We attended three(3) public hearings regarding this bill and we know for a fact that there many dog and cat owners out there, however only a handful of people attended these meetings. We believe that the public announcement was not enough to reach all pet owners (dog and/or cat). That handful of people is not enough to get this bill passed. More people should have attended these public hearings. We came up with changes and opinions (see attachment of our Rewrite of Bill 4, Draft 5), they are summarized as follows: Section 4-1 Definitions - (a) Animals is changed to solely dogs and cats. We feel that all other animals (i.e. rabbits, birds, etc.) should be put in a separate bill and that livestock -1-