In Big Island Now’s latest weekly poll, 2,836 people voted on “What is the best way to humanely address the overpopulation of feral/community cats on the Big Island?”
At the direction of Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green, Chair Dawn Chang of the Department of Land and Natural Resources came to the Big Island to “broker peace” with cat groups upset the state mandated the removal of feeding and watering stations to protect nēnē in Waikōloa.
DLNR Chair Dawn Chang met Tuesday with the principals of ABayKitties, the organization that has provided cat food at a trio of feeding stations at the Queens’ Marketplace shopping center. Last week, property owner Alexander & Baldwin removed the feeders after learning that as many as a dozen Hawaiian nēnē geese, were also eating cat food.
During a protest at Queensʻ Marketplace on the Big Island, two women from Waikōloa were cited by state conservation and resources officers for “prohibited take of endangered species” by putting bowls of cat food on the ground.