TNR programs
are not effective
In response to the letter from Lisa Lane Cardin, co-founder of Aloha Animal Alliance, on March 13, I can’t agree more that the County of Hawaii Animal Control is doing a terrible job.
However, the basis for her concern is that the county is not conducting a trap-neuter-release program for feral cats.
It has been proven that these TNR programs are ineffective. Even the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals does not support TNR. Encouraging feral cat colonies is harmful to the environment, wildlife, immunocompromised people and feral cats.
I have seen too many sick and injured feral cats that have to ultimately be euthanized because they don’t receive any veterinary care. So, what is the solution?
Unfortunately, there are few choices other than Animal Control allowing people to surrender their cats. On a brighter note, there is a new cat sanctuary in Volcano. They are building a place for unwanted and homeless cats to live out their days.
Please consider supporting their efforts at volcanocatsanctuary.org.
Lucia Kaplan
Kailua-Kona
Shutting down the
‘voice of freedom’
President Trump has dismantled the Voice of America, created in 1942 and supported by all past presidents and Congress. All employees (1,300) have been placed on leave, and all funding has been terminated.
The Voice of America is the only free press for many countries. It is estimated that over 40 countries and over 230 million people tune in to the Voice of America on a weekly basis.
This is in contrast to Elon Musk, who stated: “Shut them down. Nobody listens to them any more.”
The Voice of America is regulated to be accurate, objective, comprehensive and prohibits interference in its independent reporting.
Donald Trump has shut down the voice of freedom. Donald Trump is a power-crazed man who wants to be dictator of the United States of America at any cost.
Harry Kim
Hilo
Better roads would
help improve traffic
Traffic in Hawaii is a real pain; getting from point A to point B with a car is supposed to be easy. People have pets to feed, things to see, and overall have places to be. It’s inconvenient for so many people to simply want to get to their destination but physically can’t.
The Big Island is big. Prime destinations — like stores, schools and places of work — are far away from our homes. It’s not walking-distance which makes it super inconvenient. It already takes us a while to head to places on the road, and traffic just contributes to how much longer it will take to get us to where we need to go.
Road design is also a problem here on the Big Island. Roads with lanes that merge only to divide into two, a few feet after, might not be the most efficient way to keep the drivers going forward.
It’s not that rare to see tragic car accidents, cases of DUI and other dangerous things on the road as well, slowing down the traffic. It’s not that those things are intended, but they still have an effect on everyone on the road.
Traffic contributes to our environment’s well-being. So many cars in one place using up gas, not going anywhere, cannot be good. We want our islands to maintain their beauty, and we want our animals and families to breathe clean, fresh air.
I thought of some solutions as I write this while unironically stuck in traffic.
Improving road design for safer driving and driving safely minimizes the amount of accidents, leading to less traffic. If we were to put more funding into more functional roads, and educate more younger drivers about safety and DUI, our roads would be a little more efficient.
Let’s keep moving forward.
Troy Chavez
Hilo
