The Department of Land and Natural Resources on Tuesday released the names of the two women cited by state conservation officers April 18 during a protest by feral cat activists at Queens’ Marketplace Shopping Center.
The women are Nancy Charles-Parker, 74, and Ferol Kolons, 66, both of Waikoloa. Both are charged with the taking of endangered species for feeding feral cats in the south parking lot of the Waikoloa resort area shopping center.
The charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Both women have been scheduled for an 8:30 a.m. June 13 date for arraignment and plea at South Kohala District Environmental Court in Waimea.
DLNR had ordered the shopping center property owner, Alexander &Baldwin to remove the three cat feeding stations in the parking lot, because the cat food was attracting nene, the Hawaiian goose — the state bird, which is listed as an endangered species by both the state and is listed as threatened by the federal government.
Charles-Parker and Kolons were among about 50 people who showed up to protest the decision to have the feeding station removed.
According to the DLNR, 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.
Charles-Parker’s citation said she “feeding/putting out cat food in an area where nene geese had easy access to.”
The DLNR said last month that law enforcement is required to take action to prevent feeding of nene, which is considered an illegal take (creating a negative impact on a threatened or endangered species). Additionally, in this case, the landowner is not supportive of establishing or maintaining feeding stations on their property.
Feral cats can be predators of native species and can be the vector of deadly diseases including toxoplasmosis. For this reason, the DLNR has previously noted its support for keeping cats indoors and not feeding or maintaining cat colonies.
A fundraising page has been established by Aloha Animal Oasis and Hawaii Animal Kuleana Alliance at the GiveButter.com website to relocate as many of the estimated 150 cats as possible to private adopters. According to the page, titled “Queens’ Kitties,” with the cooperation of Alexander &Baldwin, “the cats will be humanely trapped, then spayed/neutered, microchipped, flea treated, and vaccinated by Petfix Spay and Neuter.”
“This process will be repeated until we have trapped and relocated as many cats as possible,” the page states.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the page had raised $14,410 of a $125,000 goal.
The fundraiser can be found at https://givebutter.com/WaikoloaKittiesandbeyond.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
