HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0937.021 2004-2006
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Eoff, Karen
Subject: FW: Bill 301
-----Original Message-----
From: JAbbott676@aol.com [mailto:JAbbott676@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, June 19, 2006 3:00 PM
To: Hoffmann, Pete
Subject: Sill 301
Dear Pete,
I urge you to vote no on Bill 301, the Cat Registration bill that will require cats to wear collars with a tag,
require microchip implanting, and proof of sterilization.
The wording of the bill uses the term, "privilege of owning" a cat. I agree that it is a privilege to have cats in our
lives, but there are several points in the proposed bill that I disagree with.
First of all, keeping a cat in a collar is difficult. I've tried. When I've adopted through the Hawaii Island Humane
Society, the new kitty comes home with a collar that has a numbered tag attached to it. They are also
microchipped. Not one of my cats has kept that collar and tag for very long, even the ones confined to the house.
Collars get hung up on all sorts of things and become lost. They can be very dangerous; you've probably heard
stories of pets being hanged when their collar catches on a fence. Perhaps a cat is simply not physically built to
be able to keep a collar on while leading an active life.
We need to encourage pet owners to have their animals spayed or neutered, but this has not become a reality.
Regulating responsibility doesn't work, but helping people to become responsible by allocating more money for
the spay/neuter coupon program would be very helpful. As it stands now, coupons are sold out before the end of
the month and only the tenacious keep trying to get to the HIHS the next month when coupons again become
available.
Wouldn't it would be wonderful if there were people lined up to adopt our many island cats? We all know that's
not the case. Statistics show that the majority of animals taken to the shelter are euthanized. We all see feral cat
colonies teaming with homeless and abandoned cats. Bill 301 provides them with a death sentence as they will
not be in compliance with the collar and tag legislation, in spite of the thousands of man hours spent trapping
colony cats and having them spayed or neutered, not to mention the tireless day to day efforts of individuals who
feed at the colonies.
I care for more than four cats at my house. Those cats enrich my life and I resent that the council is
considering penalizing me for having, in the words of the bill, the "privilege of owning" animals. Furthermore, I see
it as my responsibility as a human being to care for other creatures with whom we share this beautiful island.
Please do not pass Bill No. 301.
Sincerely,
Jan Abbott
68-3708 Eha-Ko St.
Waikoloa, HI 96738
883-3783
Comm. No. 7. f.1
Ref. To: ?reewNi V-P
Ref, Dote
6/19/2006