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<br /> <br /> <br /> Page 1 of 1 <br /> <br /> <br /> Eoff, Karen <br /> <br /> Subject: FW: Bill 301 <br /> <br /> -----Original Message----- <br /> From: JAbbott676@aol.com [mailto:JAbbott676@aol.com] <br /> Sent: Monday, June 19, 2006 3:00 PM <br /> To: Hoffmann, Pete <br /> Subject: Sill 301 <br /> Dear Pete, <br /> I urge you to vote no on Bill 301, the Cat Registration bill that will require cats to wear collars with a tag, <br /> require microchip implanting, and proof of sterilization. <br /> The wording of the bill uses the term, "privilege of owning" a cat. I agree that it is a privilege to have cats in our <br /> lives, but there are several points in the proposed bill that I disagree with. <br /> First of all, keeping a cat in a collar is difficult. I've tried. When I've adopted through the Hawaii Island Humane <br /> Society, the new kitty comes home with a collar that has a numbered tag attached to it. They are also <br /> microchipped. Not one of my cats has kept that collar and tag for very long, even the ones confined to the house. <br /> Collars get hung up on all sorts of things and become lost. They can be very dangerous; you've probably heard <br /> stories of pets being hanged when their collar catches on a fence. Perhaps a cat is simply not physically built to <br /> be able to keep a collar on while leading an active life. <br /> We need to encourage pet owners to have their animals spayed or neutered, but this has not become a reality. <br /> Regulating responsibility doesn't work, but helping people to become responsible by allocating more money for <br /> the spay/neuter coupon program would be very helpful. As it stands now, coupons are sold out before the end of <br /> the month and only the tenacious keep trying to get to the HIHS the next month when coupons again become <br /> available. <br /> Wouldn't it would be wonderful if there were people lined up to adopt our many island cats? We all know that's <br /> not the case. Statistics show that the majority of animals taken to the shelter are euthanized. We all see feral cat <br /> colonies teaming with homeless and abandoned cats. Bill 301 provides them with a death sentence as they will <br /> not be in compliance with the collar and tag legislation, in spite of the thousands of man hours spent trapping <br /> colony cats and having them spayed or neutered, not to mention the tireless day to day efforts of individuals who <br /> feed at the colonies. <br /> I care for more than four cats at my house. Those cats enrich my life and I resent that the council is <br /> considering penalizing me for having, in the words of the bill, the "privilege of owning" animals. Furthermore, I see <br /> it as my responsibility as a human being to care for other creatures with whom we share this beautiful island. <br /> Please do not pass Bill No. 301. <br /> Sincerely, <br /> Jan Abbott <br /> 68-3708 Eha-Ko St. <br /> Waikoloa, HI 96738 <br /> 883-3783 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Comm. No. 7. f.1 <br /> Ref. To: ?reewNi V-P <br /> Ref, Dote <br /> <br /> 6/19/2006 <br />