SCR 237: urging the department of natural resources to adopt a game management plan that incorporates ethical means of game population control into sustainability STRATEGIES.

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

urging the department of natural resources to adopt a game management plan that incorporates ethical means of game population control into sustainability STRATEGIES.

     WHEREAS, Chapter 183D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, provides direction to the Department of Land and Natural Resources to administer a sustainable hunting program and to promote public hunting; and

     WHEREAS, Act 315, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, amends Chapter 183D, HRS, to clarify that game mammals and birds provide sustainable food sources and merit high-quality habitats having sufficient food, water, and refuge to support viable populations sufficient for hunting; and

     WHEREAS, Act 315 further recognizes that proper management of game populations in appropriate areas benefits watershed areas by minimizing negative impacts of those game populations; and

     WHEREAS, in its report to the 2024 Legislature in response to Act 315, the Department described its progress in incorporating local hunting and fishing industries in its food security and sustainability strategies; and

     WHEREAS, the report identified opportunities for hunters to take game and achieve success in the use of hunting to control game populations and offset negative impacts to ecosystems; and

WHEREAS, concerns remain that the Department may continue to employ unethical means of game population control rather than rely exclusively on hunting and other humane means to prevent overpopulation that negatively impacts sensitive watershed areas; 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 Land and Natural Resources is urged to adopt a game management plan that incorporates ethical means of game population control as part of the Department's sustainability strategies; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

Report Title: 

Department of Land and Natural Resources; Game Management; Ethical Wild Animal Control