Efforts to ban ‘invasive’ animals should always be done humanely

The Hawaiian Humane Society, established in Hawaii in 1883, began largely as a society for the prevent-ion of cruelty to animals and continues that commitment today.

Our organization believes that all animals should be treated humanely.

This Friday, two state Senate committees will hear a bill proposed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). If enacted, Senate Bill 2450 would ban the feeding of cats, dogs and other animals deemed predators on all state land.

State land includes state-owned beaches, parks, schools, ports, hiking trails, forests and so much more.

If this proposal is passed and signed into law, it would condemn outdoor cats to death by starvation and criminalize those who feed them.

The state has introduced this misguided solution as a means to reduce the number of free-roaming cats on the public landscape. Rather than find humane and compassionate solutions such as educating the public to keep their pets indoors or enclosed on their own property, or by managing the colonies through responsible trap, neuter, and return and manage techniques, DLNR has jumped straight to calling the cats invasive — and this recommendation would result in their starvation.

While we have a high regard for DLNR’s goal to preserve and conserve Hawaii’s unique environment, the Hawaiian Humane Society does not weigh in on what makes one animal more valued over another, or why one animal is exalted while another is vilified. Our organization does not categorize or value animals based on words like “native,” “introduced,” “endemic” or “invasive.”

We strongly believe that if government or people are going to intervene in nature they are morally obligated to ensure that the affected animals are treated as humanely as possible.

All animals feel pain and suffering equally. This proposal to ban the feeding of free roaming cats is inhumane and morally unacceptable.

In discussions with conservationists, status is often conferred on animals for seemingly arbitrary reasons; for example, whether or not they are native, whether they are rare or abundant, and how fragile their ecosystem is perceived to be. Often the protection of one species or group of animals comes at the expense of another group.

The Hawaiian Humane Society believes that if an animal is determined to be a threat, and there is a demonstrable need to remove that animal from the environment, relocation or attrition should be favored over extermination, and extermination should be done only by methods that result in instantaneous death without suffering for that animal. Anything less does not meet our standard of humane conduct.

We must embrace the value of pono and make sure that our decisions and actions are morally right. If we are going to pick winners and losers among species in the name of conservation or nature, we must be mindful of the ethical implications of those choices and of the methods we select to carry them out. We have yet to hear DLNR’s strategies to accomplish their plans.

Please join the Hawaiian Humane Society in opposing Senate Bill 2450. We know that there are alternatives, and we are requesting that all options be explored.

Our actions should always be guided by the goal of creating a more humane way of life and death for all who share the planet.