With Hawaiʻi's animal shelters at a critical level, they're urging people to adopt, not shop, for their furry friends.
The Hawaiian Humane Society launched the start of the National Animal Safety and Protection Month with a forum that invited lawmakers, community members, and animal justice advocates to discuss the state of animal welfare across the state.
Workers from different animal rescue organizations on Oʻahu said shelters are at an emergency level due to overpopulation of rescued animals without a home to go to.
Tiffany Kim is the president of Fur-Angel Foundation, which has rescued over 800 dogs in Hawaiʻi since the organization opened 11 years ago. She said community engagement and educating people on the importance of adopting is crucial in combating this issue.
“I can say pretty confidently that everyone is tapped out as far as resources, energy, and capabilities, and everyone is doing the best they can,” Kim said.
“Where there's room for growth is things like this, coming together and working as a collective so that we can best look at the future and we can look ahead at how we can best support the animals in our communities.”
Leilani Ng, with Aloha Kitty TNR, said Hawaiʻi is uniquely challenged because there is a finite number of resources that need to sustain both housed pets and shelter animals. The increase in families moving out of the state can mean more animals are left behind without a home.
“The animals are still suffering, and everybody is vying for the limited resources that are available and the animals are getting pushed out of wherever they're at,” Ng said.
“As a community we need to come together and find some common transparency between the government, city, and state so that we can pull all of our resources together and take care of these guys.”
Rep. Darius Kila agreed, adding that community advocacy and state legislation cannot be isolated actions. He noted that there have been challenges in the past two years in passing legislation that increases penalties for animal cruelty.
“In order for us to even put teeth to the legislation that we want to enact, it has to be followed through and enacted on,” Kila said. “When we have the prosecutor’s office declining to pursue charges each and every time, it allows this proliferation of abuse to go without consequences.”
The Humane Society is hosting a national "Empty the Shelters" event through Oct. 15, which offers 50% off adoption fees for adult and senior dogs, cats and small animals. If two kittens are bought, the adoption fees are waived for the second.
