HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0283.141 2024-2026l
From: Holly Lee c_' t
Sent: Monday, July 7, 2025 11:21 AM
To: Council TestimonyC
Subject: Bill 51 written testimony -<•
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Aloha N My name is Holly Lee. I live in Pahoa and I help feed the homilesk
cats at the old Malama. These cats are house -cats and family pets th8&ha3eF'
either been abandoned or misplaced from their homes, and are not feral cats.
A few weeks ago someone abandoned a tame momma cat and her 5 kittens at
the old Malama. My friends and I gave them food to keep them alive, and we
caught them all, and now I am fostering them all at my place, to be adopted
when they are spayed and neutered.
If Bill 51 passes, it would not only stop our community's self -funded, volunteer
effort that supports the County of Hawaii's own Trap -Neuter -Return -Manage
mission, it would penalize the very people that are giving their time and
finances to support the effort of caring for these abandoned house -cats, and
moving them off the street. This bill will monetarily penalize community
members for their philanthropic efforts. T
I also want to mention my observation here that when a cat is starving, it will
go after birds. Bill 51 would incentivize the killing of the island birds.
The whole community wants the homeless cat population to decrease, and
there are humane ways to accomplish that; starving -out abandoned or
misplaced house -cats and family pets isn't the answer. Many community
members are active in helping this situation. There is one man who stewards
many of these cats and is starting a non-profit. His plan is to transition. the
homeless cats to small sanctuaries and then arrange their safe passage to
areas of the mainland, where they don't have many cats and would like to
adopt cats. Please continue to support TNRM and vote -down Bill 51, to give
our community a chance to transition the homeless cat population off the
street, to live their best lives. y�
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Mahalo for your time.