COM 0798.002 2004-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

FROM May. 16 2006 07:08RM P1 May 15, 2006 HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBERS 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Dear county council Members: We are writing you today in response to Council Member Arakaki's proposed bill to replace Chapter 4, Animals, Hawaii County Code. The bill addresses animals more equally than Council Member Jacobson's ANTI-DOG bill. However we do have valid concerns regarding the passing of this bill and any bill similar to it, Article 2, Animal Nuisances, Section 4-5 relates to all animals and the noise they make. There needs to be stipulations regarding when a dog is provoked to bark. Most of us want our dogs to bark because there are too many burglaries and cats running loose. We SHOULD NOT forget that we are NOT the City and County of Honolulu, which is an urban environment. To impose their regulations on our mostly agricultural island would be INSANE. We have animals that make noise, such as cattle, goats, horses, and sheep, which make noise when you separate them from their offspring. For the people who cannot stand this, they need to live in Kailua-Kona in the urban area of the town. To take away our rights to own livestock and poultry on this island would NOT BE RIGHT. My neighbor's one dog runs loose, poops in my sister's yard nn a daily basis. We have all learned to live together and work it out among ourselves. Our dogs bark at this dog because it is running loose all the time. Would it be fair for us to get cited for another dog provoking our dogs to bark? One of my dogs has been teased by the newspaper carrier. Everytime the carrier passes on our road, the dog barka at their car. One of the children in the neighborhood walks by our fence and makes barking sounds at the dog. That is provocation and we feel in this situation the person teasing the dog needs to be cited as well. My grandfather, who lived and worked for Parker Ranch, bought the land that we presently live on. He always told us that when he bought this place, there were no restrictions on what kinds of animals you could keep, nor how many. To limit us to keep 10 dogs Is not right. 'That is Oahu this is the Big Island. A person can have one dog that runs loose all the time and makes problems. You would be taking away our rights to own what we want. Does that mean someone with I I dogs would have to pick and choose which dog to get rid of? Some of us do take good care of our annals and love them like they were family, and give them the best medical can if they need it. We pay our property taxes on land that we own OUTRIGHT. Is it fair for the County to tell us what to do with our land? How fair is it for your County Council to create laws to limit what we can do with our land, including breaking down konncls that are situated close to Comm. No. Ref. To: Rif. i'a'e