Pigeon droppings land neighbors in legislative scrape

Jason Nagashima’s backyard smells like a zoo, but there isn’t much he can do about it.

His next-door neighbor feeds hundreds of pigeons throughout the day — from as early as 5:30 a.m. until after midnight — and has done so for the past six years despite repeated requests to stop.

"It’s exasperating," said Nagashima, a resident of the Coconut Grove subdivision in Kailua. "We’ve called the Department of Health, Humane Society, vector control companies … nobody raises an eyebrow. (There’s) no way you can get something done."

There is no law that prohibits feeding wild birds on private property.

Lawmakers this session are close to passing a bill that would address Nagashima’s concerns by making it a potential nuisance violation and authorizing the Department of Health to investigate complaints made by the public.

Rep. Karl Rhoads, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the bill is a legitimate topic of legislation.

"It was just appalling what was going on," Rhoads said of the testimony his committee received. "There were feathers everywhere, and bird excrement, and big flocks of birds flying around all the time. … I thought it was more than just a minor annoyance."

Florence Tanaka said she supports the bill because her parents endured living next to a couple in Pearl City who had been feeding hundreds of pigeons multiple times a day since 1999.

"We’re not (for) total banning but just to have the government help us to tell them to stop when it becomes (excessive)," Tanaka said. "We know that there’s fungus and bacteria inside the droppings that can pose a serious risk to people with lowered immune systems," she said.

Tanaka said her mother’s intense allergy was cured when her mother moved in with her after her father died.

Tanaka, along with a small group of her parents’ neighbors, met with Rep. Gregg Takayama (D, Pearl City-Waimalu-Pacific Palisades) in November to discuss the issue.

"They were at wits’ end because they had tried every other vehicle the process provides for," Taka­yama said, referring to a Department of Health claim made by a neighbor in 1999, a subsequent court case that that neighbor lost, and a mediation settlement between another set of neighbors that hasn’t been followed.

"It was really their last resort, and I really felt for them," Takayama said.

The original draft of House Bill 619 called for a first-time fine and second-offense petty misdemeanor charge.

"To me I cannot see it being like criminal, but from a health point aspect that is definitely an issue," Naga­shima said.

Sen. Sam Slom (R, Diamond Head-Kahala-Hawaii Kai), said in floor debate that the issue is "a personal and private problem" between neighbors in which the Legislature should not become involved.

But the Senate earlier this week gave final approval to having health officials investigate complaints.

If the House agrees with the Senate’s draft, the proposed legislation goes to the governor for consideration.

The Department of Health has opposed making feral bird feeding a nuisance because it doesn’t have enough staff to investigate complaints.

Takayama, however, said staffing shouldn’t be an issue because lawmakers are considering adding eight vector control inspectors to the department.

Gary Gill, deputy director for environmental health with the department, said enforcement also would be tricky.

"In order to find something is injurious to public health, which is what the threshold to public nuisance is, you have to show that it has an impact; for example, it could cause disease," Gill said. "So because something is dirty or noisy or ugly, which is the common use of the word ‘nuisance,’ doesn’t mean that the Department of Health will have the ability to enforce against that behavior."

Eric Poohina has been feeding birds in Nagashima’s Coconut Grove neighborhoodfor six years.

Poohina said he connects with the birds because he is a descendant of Queen Kaahumanu, whose name means "bird cloak;" and Shem, the son of Noah from the Bible. Hebrews, he said, connected with pigeons and turtle doves as sacred birds.

"It’s a cultural thing for me to see them, and I only see them in my area in my house," he said.

Rodney Cambra’s backyard borders Poohina’s, and Cambra obtained a permit from the Department of Land and Natural Resources to shoot wild birds on his property. In the past 18 months or so, he said, he has shot about 100 birds in his yard.

"He (a DLNR representative) told me, ‘As long as the birds are wild, he has no cage, they’re ruining your property, you have the right to protect your property," Cambra said.

Cambra and Nagashima share concern that bird droppings are affecting a family with two young kids that recently moved into the house on the other side of Poohina’s home.

"When it rains, all that poop gets washed off the roof and goes on the ground and kids play there," Naga­shima said.

Poohina was upset when Cambra began shooting the birds, so the two went to court, Cambra said. In mediation Poohina agreed to destroy a generation of eggs, and Cambra vowed not to shoot the birds in front of Poohina.

"He has done nothing," Cambra said.

Cambra said his neighbor also promised to sell or give away the birds, which he finds concerning.

"These birds are filled with worms; they’re drinking dirty water; they’re eating off the ground they poop on," Cambra said. "Those birds are sick, you can get disease from those birds."

The Humane Society of the United States has a neutral position on the current draft of the bill but believes curbing lethal removal of feral animals is important, Hawaii Director Inga Gibson said.

Gibson said people often don’t foresee the impact their actions will have when they begin feeding feral animals.

"As these populations grow it’s the animal that actually suffers by lethal removal when they’re perceived as a nuisance," she said.