HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0193.008 2024-20261�0
Re-5. (15-25
Comm . H15
From: Lori Johnson
Sent: Tuesday, April 1, 2025 11:33 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Comm. 193 / Resolution 115.25 (Aloha Animal Alliance - Cat Management Program)
Aloha Council Members,
Mahalo for your service and for accepting my testimony in favor of appropriating a $20K grant to Aloha Animal Alliance
for its Cat Management Pilot Program.
The unowned cat population issue in Hawai'i County is a longstanding problem — and, up to this point, there's literally
been no organized, comprehensive and/or County -supported effort to do anything to address it. The Cat Management
Program proposed by Aloha Animal Alliance is a solid plan, covering the latest in ongoing research to improve and
perfect the TNR process.
In the ongoing and divided discussion concerning the impact cats have on wildlife, critics of TNR often argue there is not
enough scientific data to prove that TNR works. But, the traditional catch and kill method has been used for decades to
no avail. A former president of the National Animal Control Association, recognizing the ineffectiveness of catch and kill
and the prevalence of the vacuum effect (i.e. killing outdoor cats leads to rebound of population as new cats will
inevitably fill habitats cleared by killing), states "What we're saying is the old standard isn't good enough anymore. As
we've seen before, there's no department that I'm aware of that has enough money in their budget to simply practice
the old capture and euthanize policy; nature just keeps having more kittens." Furthermore, there are several study
outcomes supporting TNR as an effective method of controlling the community cat population ... humanely ... which a
majority of the community supports.
Mahalo for your current and ongoing support of Aloha Animal Alliance's Cat Management Program!
Sincerely,
Lori Johnson