Forum explores limit on bird tally at homes

Bird enthusiasts meeting Sunday are hoping to come up with solutions to the issues spurring a Hono­lulu City Council proposal to limit the number of feathered, flying creatures on Oahu residential properties.

The original draft of Bill 51 requires a residential property owner with 10 or more birds to apply for a permit from the city and to be subject to inspections. A new draft, scheduled to be heard by the Council Public Health, Safety and Welfare Committee on Tuesday, eliminates the permit and inspection requirements but leaves the number of birds allowed per residential lot blank. The new draft also requires birdcages and other enclosures to be at least 25 foot away from any property line.

Melissa Bayles, co-founder of the nonprofit Hawaiian Feathered Friends Network, said she appreciates the efforts of Councilwoman Carol Fuku­naga, the bill’s author, to try to make the measure more palatable for bird owners. But a 25-feet buffer for enclosures is unreasonable in Hawaii, Bayles said. "Most standing aviaries are outdoors," she said.

Meanwhile, the unspecified number of birds that would be allowed per residential lot is troubling, Bayles said. "We’re sitting there holding our breath on what they’re going to do with that part."

Placing a limit of 10 birds, for instance, would make it more difficult for members of her group to undertake rescues, Bayles said.

Up to 100 people are expected at the monthly meeting of the group, which was formed primarily to provide education to bird owners and to rescue and find new homes for abandoned or mistreated birds. The meeting takes place at noon Sunday at Moana­lua Park, be­tween Moana­lua Elementary and Intermediate schools.

Bayles said her group contends the problems that led the bill to be introduced are limited to just a smattering of bird owners and that they can be resolved without Council action.

"We’ve talked about re-homing some of the louder birds," she said, possibly sending them to sanctuaries outside Oahu.

Cameron Datanagan, Hawaii representative for the National Pigeon Association, said bird enthusiasts "want to fix the problem, find solutions and not be the problem."

Most residential lots in urban Hono­lulu are smaller and would not be able to meet a 25-foot buffer for enclosures, he said.

While most of those who have submitted testimony on the bill have opposed it, some Oahu residents said they support stricter regulations on bird owners as a means of bringing peace and quiet back to their neighborhoods.

Fukunaga could not be reached Friday afternoon.