Two women were cited by state conservation officers Tuesday night during a protest by feral cat activists in Waikoloa.
About 50 people protested in the rear parking lot of the Queens’ Marketplace shopping center against the property owner’s decision to have cat feeding stations removed, after being warned by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources that cat food was attracting nene.
The DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife and the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement confirmed the nene had been eating the cat food and considered it “an illegal take,” which is when a person does something that has a negative impact on a threatened or endangered species.
In a letter sent to Alexander &Baldwin, the owner of the shopping center, the DLNR cited numerous potential impacts caused by the cat-feeding.
According to the DLNR, feeding the cats affects the natural behaviors of nene and brings them into close contact with feral cats, people, mongoose and roads. This can lead to separation from their natural environment and reliance on feeding stations.
Cats are also known carriers of the infection toxoplasmosis, which is fatal to nene.
Alexander &Baldwin has been compliant with the DLNR’s requests and will be removing the feeding stations by Friday.
The West Hawaii nonprofit Abaykitties since 2019 has been managing the feeding stations and cat colony while also attempting to trap, spay and neuter the felines and release them.
After learning that nene were eating the cat food in the parking lot, Dawn Garlinghouse, director of Abaykitties, spoke with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and believed that if they changed the feeding habits, then nene would not be drawn to the area.
“We have worked side by side with all the property managers of Queens’ to manage the cats and do TNR (trap, neuter, release) on the property,” Garlinghouse said. “The moment we learned that nene were being attracted to the food, we ended daytime feeding immediately. We never intended to harm the birds.”
Garlinghouse said Abaykitties presented a nene-proof feeding station to the DLNR but were denied that solution.
“I’m devastated that my volunteers can’t go out and feed the cats, and I’ll have to watch them die,” Garlinghouse said. “No one is interested in a solution to the problem, except getting rid of the cats by starvation.”
Garlinghouse does not support anyone who decides to feed or give water to the cats at shopping center.
Jordan Lerma, a biologist at Nene Research and Conservation, has been working to end the cat feedings at the shopping center and submitted a two-year proposal to Alexander &Baldwin that reduces the growth of the cat colony and relocates adoptable cats to shelters in the mainland.
According to his website, the accelerated compliance timeline set by the DLNR presents challenges to the plan since Abaykitties is not allowed to care for the colony as of April 15.
“Nene have the highest mortality rate of any goose in the U.S. and feeding nene, even if unintentionally, is dangerous to the species,” Lerma said. “They are attracted to the parking lot, because there is always food there. They come in early and eat the scraps, which habituates them to keep coming to dangerous areas.”
During the protest Tuesday, DOCARE cited two women for illegal take of nene after they allegedly put bowls of cat food on the ground. Both women were also informed by a Queens’ Marketplace security officer that they were trespassing and were no longer allowed anywhere on the property.
A third woman was issued a warning after being spotted pouring cat food into bowls behind a shed.
In a press release Wednesday, the DLNR noted law enforcement is required to take action to prevent feeding of nene.
“Everybody who gets into wildlife work loves animals. We’re not anti-cat, but when we see a concern with our endangered wildlife, we need to address it,” DOFAW wildlife biologist Raymond McGuire said. “Nene are very special, not just to our islands, not just to the state, but to the people. We are lovers of all animals but have a responsibility to protect our native species first and foremost.”
DLNR urges people keep pet cats indoors, avoid feeding feral cats and supports a model of “trap, neuter, adopt” to transition feral cats into indoor care wherever possible.
For now, Abaykitties is working with Hawaii Police Department Animal Control and lawyers to see how they can approach this issue legally.
“We have been taking care of this population for years. We spay and neuter them, give them medical care, and if they’re adoptable, we fly them out to the mainland every chance we get,” Garlinghouse said. “Now that we can’t get involved, the cats will start going to the mall, they will reproduce, beg for food at restaurants, get in the trash, and do everything they can to survive while we wait to see what we can do.”
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.