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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0692.002 2022-2024 PfCRcoG cow. From: Sylvia Dolena Sent: Sunday, February 4, 2024 9:46 PM To: Council Testimony Subject: Comm 692:Animal Control and Protection Review raa -., n, '„ Aloha Council Members and ACP Administrator, Matt Runnels, My testimony today is not about blame. It is about raising and resolving issues. i.T' On Sept. 18th, last year, CM Ashley K conducted a meeting with citizens and HPD, Prosecutor's Office, Mayors Office, Animal Control, Corporate Counsel and a representative from the OGv's-" office. Concerned citizens attended to relay their issues and I, representing the community feedback from the 9 council districts, relayed the issues from them regarding the weak animal laws, lack of enforcement, lack of preventative measures, etc. At that meeting the representative from the Prosecutors Office said that to solve these issues it would take out of the box thinking. There were high hopes that with the relevant agencies in the room, something will finally get done. As of today, we have not seen anything regarding those issues, and as far as the community is concerned, nothing has changed. The issues I am relaying today are Lack of Preventative protocols, Lack of Transparency, and Archaic Shelter and Field Operation standards. Preventative Protocols: When Dolores Oskins was mauled to death a couple of years ago, we said never again. Yet it did happen again. And there were also severe injuries to many residents including a 6 year old girl. Two years later there have not been any preventative protocols put in place. Yes, HPD was understaffed and under experienced in this arena. Yet, there was plenty of funding in the budget for salaries and wages, and the AC staff was at about 30% staffing. Yes, we get it; however, thinking out of the box, why wasn't the patrolling of the neighborhoods in the hot spot areas contracted out to security companies who are used to patrolling shopping malls at night and other places. If they spotted an issue, AC or HPD could be called in. And due to the patrols acting as a deterrent, potentially there would be fewer issues. Why weren't the Neighborhood Watch or the Community Associations involved in a preventative protocol? Yes, there could be liability issues; however, those can be worked out. And lives would have been saved. The members of the communities know who the owners are of the dangerous dogs allowed to run the neighborhood killing small animals and terrorizing the residents. And because they fear retaliation, they rarely report the issues. That is why a patrol is necessary. Another example is regarding a preventative program implemented by the citizens themselves island wide. It is called Trap/Neuter/Return or Relocate. This program has had national success in humanely reducing the pet overpopulation of abandoned, lost or stray cats. These are not FERAL cats as the Mayor's Administration has been labeling them. The colony caretakers feed and care for these abandoned cats using their own funds and resources. If an abandoned cat is not sterilized, they will trap it and get it spayed or neutered. Abandoned kittens and puppies are caught and fostered or adopted out after they are spayed or neutered. Yet with all this good work the seniors are doing, they have been harassed, threatened and disrespected. They have been subjected to seeing the cats they care for being killed in front of their eyes by County workers who then laugh at them. They have also 1 'l, Ref. To: V Ref. rote B - 6 2024 been subjected to finding cat bodies after they have been poisoned, dying a painful death. Yes, all of this has been verified. It is not hearsay. AND to be completely clear, the argument about killing the cats to save the birds is not factual. The number one killer of the native birds is the disease carrying mosquito. The number two killer is loss of habitat due to over development and pollution caused by humans. Lack of Transparency began with the secret committee put in place when HPD took over Animal Control and CM Tim Richards was part of it, nothing ever was reported except that there was a two year pilot. We do not blame HPD. They were already understaffed and inexperienced in the arena. The former director of operations of the HPD version of Animal Control was grossly ineffective. And the result of that two year pilot was disastrous with services being cut, phones not answered, shelters being closed to the public, a high kill rate for dogs, residents not able to find their pets because there were not allowed in the shelters, and it goes on and on. Yes, one could get an appointment if only someone would answer the phone to give them an appointment. The online pet finder does not work for many people especially Kupunas who don't have access to computers or smart phones. Sad that so many seniors lost their beloved pets. Lack of transparency and lack of engagement with the community has broken trust completely. Archaic shelter and field operations and standards are inhumane, ineffective and costly. Why reinvent the wheel? There are many successful methods to adopt if only the County administration would be open to them. There was a strategic plan formulated with the input of 5 local animal welfare non-profits and with input and review of three national animal welfare organizations. It has been offered to HIHS, HPD, the Mayor's office and the current animal control agency. The only person who accepted and was willing to implement it was Charles Brown of HIHS who was CEO for three months, then unexpectedly left the job. This County is still on the watch list of at least three national animal welfare organization because of the high kill rates? In 2000 and 2001 there were two assessments done of the Animal Control operations in the County. One assessment was conducted by NACA and the other by an internal auditor. Yet, nothing changed. Of course this was before anyone here was in office, so now there is an opportunity to make positive change happen. I commend CM Ashley K for taking on the vicious dog laws and even though there is more work to do to gain alignment with the State laws, it was a good effort. Now we must make that law enforceable. The rest of the laws need to be reviewed and revised. I commend Council chair Kimball for sanctioning the taskforce meetings held island wide to gather from community members the serious issues in their districts. This taskforce facilitated by Lauren Turhbaugh with Sylvia Dolena, and Ana Kaho'opi'i documented problems and solutions the community wanted. I now call upon the Council to mandate a Charter for Animal Control and Protection agency to be responsible for the services the tax-paying citizens want. They want more than meager law enforcement. The list of what the community wants to see as solutions and services are well documented and available to the County Administration and to the Council. Sylvia Dolena Owner, Pele Lani Farm LLC Owner, Winning Edge Women's Leadership Director, Puna Rising Entrepreneur Hub Co-founder,Aloha Animal Advocates, HI Domestic non-profit 2 Director, Malama O'Puna. 501c3 President,Aloha Lokahi Association, 501c3 President, Kulia I Ka Nu'u Outreach Services Vice President, Love Those Dog Paws, 501c3 Executive Coach, Hewlett-Packard Enterprises 3