HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0091.013 2022-2024 PIGOAC
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From: Greg DiBenedetto
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2023 9:50 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Communication 91 re Bill 22—Creating an Animal Control & Protection Agency
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Communication 91 re Bill 22—Creating an Animal Control & Protection Agency
Aloha Council members, and mahalo for reading my testimony.
My name is Gregory DiBenedetto, and I am testifying regarding Communication 91 re Bill 22—Creating an Animal
Control &Protection Agency.
As a resident of Black Sands Beach Subdivision for over 10 years, and its Property Owners'Association president for the
last two, I am writing to support any and all efforts to improve animal control services in Hawaii County, and especially
in lower Puna.
Quite simply, we are being overrun with both feral/ownerless cats, and unleashed,frequently aggressive dogs.
Many neighborhood residents are afraid to walk the streets, and those who do must carry weapons of self-defense. I
personally witnessed a county police officer recommend to one of our elderly retired residents to "carry a spear." This is
not a viable or appropriate solution to this widespread problem, and vigilante enforcement of animal problems
inevitably creates further problems of its own within the neighborhood.
Our association board members and other community members must volunteer weekly to clean the mess left by the
growing cat colony at the entrance to our subdivision,which is also the site of our mailboxes and the school bus stop for
our keiki,who have been mocked by fellow students on the school bus for smelling of cat feces.
This situation is unacceptable, and it has been growing visibly worse, month by month, especially since the Humane
Society dropped the animal control contract in 2020.
The residents of Black Sands Beach subdivision understand that our community is not and will never be a luxury
neighborhood, but reasonable and effective support to maintain basic standards of health and safety with respect to
animal populations does not seem like too much to ask of our local government.
I personally do not see any viable solution that does not include significant reductions in the unlicensed animal
population. Once that has been accomplished, perhaps the task of humanely caring for and managing a much smaller
feral population could be feasible. But I support any and all options that increase the attention and resources focused
on this critical livability issue that affects all of us.
Mahalo for addressingthis urgent situation. Comm.
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Ref. To:
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Gregory DiBenedetto
PO Box 112
Pa hoa, H 1 96778
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