HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0386.013 2010-2012Murashige, Laura 1 11.-L (ii/Comm. 38
PIEMc
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ouncilDeerfinal.doc.
Aileen Yeh [ayeh @hawaii.rr.com]
Monday, October 03, 2011 9:56 AM
County Council
Testimony regarding Deer bill
To County CouncilDeerfinal.doc
I'm sorry, I sent the unfinished testimony in the last email. I wanted to add that on
Lana'i, the deer were found from the top of the hale, all the way down to the beaches.
they were all over. Here is the final testimony.
Aileen Wung Yeh
936 -2671
1
twor
--4
Comm. No. 3 86 /3
Ref. To: p /C.
Ref. Dote OCT 4 NU
To: Council of the County of Hawaii
Environmental management Committee
Date: Oct. 3, 2011
Testimony of Aileen Wung Yeh
In Regards to Bill 112
Dear County Council,
I recently read about the hearing you are having today. I would like to share some
thoughts with you regarding axis deer.
I feel that conviction for transporting live axis deer to Hawaii island should be more than
a misdemeanor. It should be a felony. I also believe that money spent counting deer
could be used more efficiently to eliminate them on sight (if possible).
Having worked on Lana'i from 1977 to 1979 on the Dole Pineapple plantation, I have
seen the damage that deer can do. Much of the area outside of the irrigated plantation
was dry and dusty, with deer eating most of the grass, since there were no cattle there at
the time. Deer would come into the plantation, and eat the pineapple plants, pulling the
leaves out of the hearts of the plants. Emergency hunts were held to bring down the
deer populations almost every year. Deer inhabited the island from the ocean to the
hale, or top of the island. They were everywhere. I would not like to see that happen
here.
I have a plant nursery in Hilo, surrounded by pasture, and a small cattle ranch in
Glenwood, and would be impacted by the spread of deer. I've visited nurseries and
ranches on Maui, and seen deer all over. Some of the nurseries we visited had tall,
possibly 7 or 8 foot tall fences, because of the deer problem. With out the fences, the
deer will come in and eat their stock plants. Even with the fence, if they forget to close
the gate, deer will come in to eat. Regular cattle and pig proof fence do not deter the
deer. They can hop over it easily. The cost of fencing deer out is cost prohibitive. Deer
are a resevoir for Bovine Tuberculosis and other diseases which would be disastrous for
the cattle industry.
Respectfully submitted,
Aileen Wung Yeh
942 W. Kawailani St.
Hilo, HI 96720
Ph. 936-2671