SCR 170: requesting the department of agriculture to identify existing departmental lands that are unsuitable for agricultural use but may be utilized as pet animal sanctuaries.

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the department of agriculture to identify existing departmental lands that are unsuitable for agricultural use but may be utilized as pet animal sanctuaries.

     WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the State to protect endangered indigenous wildlife, which hold ecological, economic, and spiritual importance to the people of Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, Hawaii is home to over four hundred threatened or endangered species, many of which are particularly vulnerable to predation and parasitic infection by feral cats; and

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii Invasive Species Council lists feral cats as one of the most devastating threats to the State's unique wildlife; and

     WHEREAS, feral cats on islands are responsible for at least fourteen percent of global bird, mammal, and reptile extinctions and are the principal threat to nearly eighty percent of critically endangered bird, mammal, and reptile species; and

     WHEREAS, feral cats are the greatest source of direct, human-associated mortality to birds in the United States, killing approximately 2.4 billion birds per year; and

     WHEREAS, uncontrolled feral cats prey on native birds endemic to Hawaii's forests, shorelines, and wetlands, posing an existential threat to endangered species such as uau and palila; and

     WHEREAS, cats are the definitive hosts that harbor the deadly parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which is fatal to other organisms, including the state mammal, the endangered Hawaiian monk seal; and

     WHEREAS, Toxoplasma gondii can also infect vulnerable human populations, including pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems; and

     WHEREAS, approximately two million feral cats live in Hawaii, and mitigation efforts have been ineffective in reducing the population or curbing its fatal impact on native wildlife; and

     WHEREAS, one female cat and her offspring are estimated to produce more than four hundred thousand cats within seven years, rendering euthanasia initiatives incapable of addressing the feral cat population's exponential growth; and

     WHEREAS, despite their moderate success, existing Trap‑Neuter-Return programs have not substantially alleviated the threat of feral cats in the State; and

     WHEREAS, pet animal sanctuaries present a potentially viable method for protecting Hawaii's endangered species by separating feral cats from the vulnerable wildlife upon which they prey, increasing the sterilization rates, providing sustainable alternative food sources, and socializing feral cats so that community members can safely adopt them; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Agriculture is requested to identify existing departmental lands unsuitable for agricultural use that may be leased or used as pet animal sanctuaries; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture.

Report Title: 

Department of Agriculture; Pet Animal Sanctuaries