A bill that would have authorized the state to kill thousands of feral cats died in the Legislature last week.
House Bill 1987 proposed earmarking money for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to conduct a point-in-time count of feral cats across the state on June 30, 2023.
The Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council would then be tasked with culling felines. The bill had a goal of eliminating the feral cat populations on Kauaʻi, Maui and the Big Island by the end of 2025 — and reducing Oʻahu’s population by 50%.
The House Committee on Agriculture heard the bill on Friday and received more than 1,000 written testimonies overwhelmingly in opposition.
Oral testifiers agreed that a point-in-time count would be a good first step. The Hawaiian Humane Society noted that it is currently conducting its first free-roaming cat census.
But testifiers were opposed to the eradication goals and poison bait methods cited in the bill. They advocated for the trap, neuter and return method.
The bill's aim was to protect native bird populations, as well as control the spread of toxoplasmosis – which has killed a dozen monk seals in the past 20 years.
Sylvia Dolena of Aloha Animal Advocates said targeting one animal species could have unintended consequences.
“We should not contribute to the high rate of extinction to the species in Hawaiʻi by taking action to spread poison to do different kinds of methods to eradicate one species without a lot of research," Dolena said in testimony. "If we really want to save the native species and the environment, we need to focus on the root causes of the extinctions and not just target one species, the felines.”
The House agriculture committee deferred the bill. It will not move forward this session.
