WAIMEA — “It’s a win for the cats.”
That was the reaction by Nancy Charles-Parker after misdemeanor charges of the taking of endangered and threatened species against her and fellow Waikoloa resident Ferol Kolons were dismissed without prejudice Tuesday by South Kohala District Judge Jill Hasegawa.
Charles-Parker and Kolons were both cited by Department of Land and Natural Resources enforcement officers on April 18 in the south parking lot of Queens’ Marketplace shopping center in the Waikoloa resort area. The women were among about 50 people there to protest the removal by Alexander &Baldwin, the shopping center’s property owner, of three feeding stations for cats. The landlord removed the feeding stations after a warning letter from DLNR, 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 as threatened by the federal government.
The DLNR said in an April press release that cat food can sicken and even kill nene. The release said feeding wildlife like nene can “habituate” them to being around people, which leads to more frequent car strikes. Feral cats are a predator of birds and toxoplasmosis, a disease carried by cats, can also kill birds.
The officer’s narrative on Charles-Parker’s citation, said she was “feeding/putting out cat food in an area where nene geese had easy access to.”
The narrative on Kolons’ citation said she was “providing an unnatural water source which is available for nene geese, endemic and threatened species in Hawaii.”
Charles-Parker’s case was called first. After attorney Susan Regeimbal — who defended both women pro bono, no charge — told Hasegawa she wanted the charge to be read aloud in the courtroom, Deputy Prosecutor Matthew Woodward moved orally to dismiss the case.
“I know this is a fairly hot-button public issue that has been going on for quite some time,” Woodward told the judge. “I know the vast majority of the cats have been relocated. There were some issues with regards to feeding cats and how this interfered with the nene.”
Woodward added the ends of justice don’t “require the state to continue to pursue this.”
“Unless there are any objections, the state would make a motion to dismiss this without prejudice,” he said.
“Any objections?” Hasegawa inquired.
“No, Your Honor,” Regeimbal replied.
Although a dismissal without prejudice leaves the state the option of refiling the charges, it seems unlikely since the charges were dropped at the prosecutor’s request.
“In the end, nobody wins a trial. Right?” Regeimbal said afterwards, outside the courthouse. Regeimbal said she took the cases pro bono “because I want people to know somebody cares about this.”
Debbie Cravatta, the founder of KARES — Kohala Animal Relocation and Education Services — said $2,500 had been raised for the women’s legal fees, but that money will go to animal rescue, pet food for shelters, spay/neuter, veterinary services for stray animals, etc., since Regeimbal declined a fee.
Charles-Parker added the dismissals are “a win for animals,” as well as for cats.
“People who love cats love animals — whether they’re nenes, whether they’re dogs, we love animals,” she said. “And Hawaii’s a great place for animals. Or at least it was until April 18.”
Kolons, which is pronounced “Collins,” said she felt “vindicated.”
“I’m glad. I’m happy. I’m relieved. And now I can go on with my life,” she said. “I felt that I had done nothing wrong. I was extremely intimidated by the DLNR. And I’m glad the prosecutor thought this was not worth taking to trial, and a waste of time and energy and money for the state.”
“There’s a reasonable way to do this that would protect the nene and protect the cats,” added Cravatta. “It’s not an either, or. It can be a both.”
Kolons said she’s been involved in animal rescue and related practices for 35 years on Hawaii Island. She added she attended the Queens’ Marketplace protest “just supporting the cause.”
I know what hard work it is and what it takes. It never ends,” she said. “It’s physically grueling, emotionally grueling, financially devastating. But we do it because we love the animals and there’s nobody else stepping up to take care of them. And just because an animal doesn’t have a home doesn’t mean it has to starve to death or be misused. These animals, these cats are not there because they choose to be. They are either dumped there by irresponsible pet owners who don’t spay and neuter. I know vets are hard to come by, but nowadays there are plenty feral cat and dog spay-neuter clinics available.”
According to Kolons, the feral cat population skyrocketed when the Hawaii Island Humane Society didn’t renew its animal control contract with the county three years ago.
“The humane society used to spay and neuter 5,000 cats a year. Over three years, that’s 15,000 cats,” she said. “And they also euthanized 6,000 cats a year. So over three years, that’s 18,000 cats that did not get euthanized. That’s 33,000 cats that have been left to breed over a three-year period.
“We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of cats.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.