HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0283.410 2024-2026From: lauren hyprnalu.com
Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2025 7:31 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Oppose Bill 51 in it's current form
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Testimony on Bill 51
Lauren Turnbaugh Foo
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District 8 Resident
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President & Co -Founder, Aloha Animal Alliance
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Aloha Chair Inaba, Vice Chair Onishi, and Members of the Hawai'i County Council,
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My name is Lauren Turnbaugh Foo. I am a resident of District 8 in the Kalaloa area. I moved to-Hawai'i Island in 2002,
and the moment my feet touched the ground, I somehow knew I had reached home. I brought my husband and our four
young children here to start a new life. My children grew up here —they swam at the Kona pool and graduated from
Kealakehe High School. I've paddled with Kai Opua, Kai Ehitu, Keauhou, and Keaukaha Canoe Clubs. This community
shaped our lives. When I founded Aloha Animal Alliance, I did it to give back to the place and people I love.
Aloha Animal Alliance is a nonprofit dedicated to keeping pets with their families and reducing shelter intake through
humane, community -based programs. I'm here today to respectfully oppose Bill 51—not because we deny that free -
roaming animals pose challenges, but because this bill misplaces our priorities.
While this legislation focuses on cats, our island residents are grappling with a much more dangerous and immediate
threat: loose, aggressive dogs. Every week, we hear from families afraid to let their children walk to the bus stop.
Kupuna can't tend their gardens safely. Pets and livestock are being attacked. People are scared —and rightly so.
Instead of addressing these pressing issues, Bill 51 threatens to fine or criminalize community caregivers —often
elderly —who are feeding and managing cat colonies as part of humane population control efforts. These individuals are
doing the work that our public systems currently can't. And now, we want to punish them?
It's not just unfair —it's unrealistic. Our enforcement agencies are already overwhelmed. Our court systems are
backlogged. I recently saw a case where a drunk driver responsible for a fatal crash was out on bail —possibly still driving.
Meanwhile, this bill proposes using limited law enforcement resources to go after kupuna for feeding cats?
This is not effective policy, and it's not enforceable in any meaningful way. Even if it were, we must ask: is this where we
want to spend our energy, time, and funding? Are we stepping over the elephant in the room —dangerous dogs —to
regulate something we could be solving through structured, community -supported solutions?
If we're serious about protecting our people and reducing free -roaming animal populations, we need a coordinated,
humane strategy: spay/neuter, education, and support —not criminalizing compassion.
Please vote no on Bill 51 as written. Work with us. We are ready to be part of the solution.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
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