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July 7th, 2025
Emma Clifford
Founder and Executive Director
Animal Balance
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PO BOX 66406o
Portland, OR 97290
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clifford@animalbalance.org
Cell: 541.306.8955
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www.animalbalance.org
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RE: Letter Opposing Bill 51
Dear Hawaiian Legislature,
Animal Balance is a 20 year non-profit who are experts at humane animal
population control models. We began our work on the Galapagos Islands and then
replicated the model on 12 other island nations.
During 2015 to 2019 we worked for 5 years to intensely spay and neuter the cats of
Hawaii. We worked with all of the Humane Societies and brought in the traps and
the vet teams. We were sterilizing over 800 animals each week. We worked with
the cat colony caretakers and set up temporary MASH style clinics with the Humane
Societies. The strategy works if it is maintained and targeted.
We have successfully brought the cat and dog populations on the Galapagos Islands
under control and now we provide 'maintenance' to ensure that their populations
reduce and are managed responsibly. On the Galapagos there are endemic and
native species living close to the human communities and therefore the cats and
dogs. It was a successful program because we work with the community, not
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against them. Now 71% of the dogs and 80% of the cats are sterilized. The iguana
populations are flourishing again.
Here is the evidence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_ivW5KbLFY
Please do not ban the feeding of cats on County property as you will be working
against the only solution for the overpopulation of cats that actually works to
reduce their numbers and keep them healthy. It is easy to blame cats and want to
kill them for being non-native, however, they are now part of the chain of life on
the islands. The ONLY way to successfully manage cats when there are humans
present, is to use a community -based sterilization program.
It has worked on the Galapagos, it will work on Hawaii, if you give it a chance and
allow the resources to enter the islands that are needed.
In 2018, the Director of the Agency of the Bio-Security and Biodiversity of the
Galapagos Islands, ABG Dr. Marilyn Cruz, met with Governor Ige to explain how
Animal Balance has worked with ABG with great success. She, herself, used to
support lethal strategies until she witnessed how the community played an
essential role in reducing, and taking responsibility for, the cat populations. They
saved ABG resources, they supported ABG's mission to protect the endemic and
native species of the municipal areas of the Galapagos Islands.
Bill 51 condemns the very people who are keeping the cat populations under control
and healthy. You should be viewing them as your army of volunteers instead who
are working with you to protect all species. You are not seeing the value in these
people who feed cats and get them sterilized and vaccinated.
If you would like to learn about how a successful community -based sterilization
works, please do contact me. I am very familiar with the cat groups and with the
wildlife groups on the islands of Hawaii.
My teams of vets would be eager to come back and work with your nonprofits and
humane societies again. We have the capacity to perform 800 surgeries a week.
However, Hawaii does not allow us to obtain temporary vet licenses any longer,
which has severely damped the efforts of off -island cat MASH organizations who
could help.
The support for this humane approach is enormous. It works. To deny the feeders
their ability to feed their cats is ultimately cruel to not just the cats, but to the
caring compassionate feeders.
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If you truly want a solution based approach, please contact us. or else you will
continue to have controversy over this issue forever, without a solution. The cats
must be excluded from Bill 51.
Yours sincerely,
Emma Clifford
Founder & Executive Director
Animal Balance