LIHUE >> The Kauai Human Society is setting records this year in dogs and cats flown for free to the mainland for adoption.

About 350 dogs and cats have been transported so far, well above the 227 during roughly the same period last year. The program was started years ago to reduce homeless pets on an island with limited shelter space, the Garden Island newspaper reported.

An agreement with Alaska Airlines allows certain passengers to sign for animals, avoiding a cargo fee of about $300 per pet. Once on the mainland, Kauai Humane Society Executive Director Penny Cistaro said, the transferred animals are usually adopted within the first week.

“This has doubled our capacity for getting animals out,” Cistaro said. “It’s been amazing for us.”

The shelter has had to take in fewer pets each fiscal year since at least 2013. The number of cats and dogs that are euthanized has also been reduced.

The $100 crates used to transfer the animals are the program’s biggest cost. Shelters on the mainland are working to send them back. A barge recently returned 39 crates from Kitsap County in Washington.

State lawmakers take trip to Maui

Members of the state Senate’s Ways and Means Committee and Maui senators will be on Maui today and Tuesday to tour various sites across the island.

The senators will discuss and view state projects and programs supported by the Legislature, a news release said.