Animal woes
Animal woes
A big mahalo to the selfless and brave animal lovers who are working under the radar to trap, neuter/spay, treat, then release feral felines. These volunteers use their own time and financial resources.
Recent letters to the editor have all made excellent points. Infamous ecological disasters occurred when people introduced rats to the islands, followed by mongooses, mice, a variety of insects, et al., wreaking havoc on the aina, especially on indigenous species.
Feral cats, invaluably, help to keep vermin in check. But feral cats can also breed prolifically, become diseased, malnourished or injured. They require our attention.
Thankfully, we have volunteers sacrificing so much of their time and means. These good people do not deserve to have their jobs made harder by unthinking or uncaring people who dump pets on roads, in forests and at the dumps, even though some felines perform a service there.
As for the Humane Society, my interaction with them has been both positive and negative. I’ve trapped and brought in feral animals. Under the best circumstances employees have been cordial, offered solutions, taken on the responsibility. Under the worst circumstances, I’ve been asked to fill out paper work explaining why I am giving up my pet. (What pets? These are feral chickens, lost dogs, misplaced cats, and people should be thanked when they do the Humane Society’s work for them.) Such latter treatment makes responsible people less inclined to help.
Still, the Humane Society needs to take reports. Discarding pets is a misdemeanor, for good reason. Records need to be kept to reflect and understand the scope of the problem. Reports need to be taken, but not to the point of blaming the wrong people, the volunteers who are trying to help.
Again, mahalo to those who help our animals, increase public awareness through the newspaper and other means, and to those Humane Society employees who take their jobs to heart.
Joan Oviatt
Hawaiian Paradise Park
For the people?
Linda Lingle says she is for the people. For those of us who still have a memory: As governor, did she think of the people when she slammed the Superferry down the Legislature’s throat, bypassing the environmental impact study and costing the state millions when it was shut down by the state Supreme Court?
Did she think of the people, given our state’s ranking of 49th in the country in education? Her remedy was to create “furlough Fridays,” cutting much-needed time for our children to learn and making us the laughing stock of many pundits across the country.
If she wasn’t backed by the Republican super-PAC money, would she have nonstop commercials on TV for more time than all other candidates combined? Does she think we are so easily fooled?
Hermine Harman
Maui