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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0396.022 1998-2000 FILE No. 239 08123 '99 0827 ID~REMAX BROKERS 18083273280 PAGE 1 ,:l~, ~ GiC~N +I1C. O n c I-ielpln~ l~iu~~ulis feral Felines w C-; August 20, 1999 ~ , 3 z~ Aaron Chung, Finance Director °D County Council ~ 25 Aupuni Street - Hilo, HI 96720 RE: Resolution 12699 -The Status of Animal Control in the County of Hawaii Dear Mr. Chung: I am President of advoCATS, Inc., anon-profit organization dedicated to helping Hawaii's feral felines. This organization began out of a concern for the humane treatment of feral, abandoned and homeless cats. In January, 1999, our group started out with six people et the first meeting. We have now grown to between 20 and 30 members who volunteer time, food, materials and money in order to provide care for hundreds of animals. We incorporated on March 17, 1999. Our mission is to spay and neuter as many cats as we possibly can with funds donated by caring individuals. To date, we have spayed and neutered 135 cats since March 17. The two veterinarians who work with advoCATS charge $36.00/male neuter and $56.OO/female spay. The Hawaii Island Humane Sociely euthanizes feral cats brought into the shelter. advoCATS does not support this kind of needless killing as it is not the humane way to stop overpopulation or spread of disease. The answer is to spay and neuter these cats and to educate the population on the merits of spaying and neutering as these people are the ones who are ultimately to blame for the serious situation on this island. So I ask yvu this? How can the Hawaii Island Humane Society be called "Humane" when they kill feral, abandoned and homeless cats? The answer is to spay and neuter, and advoCATS has been doing this without any assistance from the county since March 17. How can the County of Hawaii condone the senseless killing of hundreds of cats with taxpayer's dollars? Sources tell me that the Hawaii Island Humane Society has money budgeted for cat food, yet all their cat food is donated from lams. If this is true, where does the budgeted amount go7 We have Baked a number of times for any extra food to help feed our colonise. We know they get donations of cat food from businesses in the community, yet they have never once offered advoCATS any extra food. P.O. Box 390195, Kailua-Kona, I-iI. 96739 Phon¢: C808) 3a9-45x9 ' Comm. Na 396. O1Z iFLle Na REV Ref. TorPresaated FG Ref. Date ~ 2 4 FILE No. 239 0823 '99 0828 ID~REMAX BROKERS 18083273280 PAGE 2 -2- Then there is the situation with David Flanders. ~He began a business in March called "Humane Relocation Service." For a fee, he would trap feral cats and take them to the Hawaii Island Humane Society. We were outraged by this situation. We asked, "How can the Hawaii Island Humane Society subsidize this man's buainess7" He's making money trapping feral cats and the Hawaii Island Humana Soci®ty is killing them as they are brought to the shelter. After our organization expressed grave concerns about this, the Hawaii Island Humane Society put a price tag of $5 on every feral cat brought in by David Flanders. Outrageous) And I am aura that if the majority of the population knew of this, they would be outraged, too, to think that the Hawaii Island Humane Society values the life of a feral cat at $51 Yes, advoCATS, Inc. would like to see the Auditor's Office begin a study about the status of Animal Control in the County of Hawaii with emphasis on accountability by the Hawaii Island Humane Society. Please feel free to contact me should you require further information. As we are actively involved in "animal control," we hope that you will request our input. Sincerely, Sandy Sharkey, President advoCATS,Inc.