The Hawaii County Council, by a vote of 6-2 with one absent, on Wednesday approved the second and final reading of a measure that would ban the feeding of feral or stray animals such as cats and pigs on county property.
Voting yes on Bill 51 was its author, Puna Councilman Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder, Chairman Holeka Goro Inaba, Vice Chairman Dennis “Fresh” Onishi, and council members Heather Kimball, James Hustace and Rebecca Villegas. The two no votes came from members Jenn Kagiwada and Ashley Kierkiewicz.
Councilwoman Michelle Galimba was absent and excused.
The bill — which is intended to reduce or eliminate feral cat colonies on county properties — would prohibit the feeding or attempted feeding of animals on properties owned, leased, rented, managed or operated by the county.
Violators would be subject to a fine of up to $50 for a first offense and up to $500 for subsequent offenses.
The measure now goes to the desk of Mayor Kimo Alameda, and with his signature it will become law on Jan. 1, 2026. Alameda’s spokesman, Tom Callis, told the Tribune-Herald the mayor intends to sign the measure.
After a private executive session with county Corporation Counsel Renee Schoen, an amendment by Kimball that would provide an exemption for certified community cat caretakers contracted by county Animal Control and Protection was removed. According to subsequent public deliberation, the county’s chief civil attorney raised concerns about language in the amendment that could violate state and/or federal law.
The bill, throughout the process, proved controversial, with the live testimony overwhelmingly against passage of the measure, which some said was tantamount to the starvation of cats abandoned by people. Those in favor said cats and pigs on county property endanger indigenous birds, such as nene, and create potential health problems for park users.
There was almost three hours of testimony about the bill Wednesday, most of it in opposition.
One opponent, Nancy Charles-Parker, was one of two women criminally cited in 2023 by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources for allegedly endangering nene by feeding feral cats at the Queen’s Marketplace shopping center. The charges against her and Ferol Kolons were later dropped by prosecutors.
Charles-Parker testified via video from Hustace’s office in Waimea and thanked him for the hospitality. Her message to Hustace and the others, however, wasn’t subtle.
“As you’re aware, I hope, there are five- to six-thousand signatures on a petition, so we know there are at least five- to six-thousand people opposed to this,” she said. “As you’re probably aware, too, your reelection is coming up. And I don’t think I need to remind you all five, six-thousand of us will definitely vote for your opponent if you choose to go through with 51. … Because if you vote for this, you’ve blown us off, and you really don’t care about our views.”
After the executive session, Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder pointed out that the word “cat” didn’t appear in the bill’s language, nor does the bill prevent feeding by the public of feral cats, just “not on county property.” He added that the bill was about “a public safety issue, protection of our indigenous species.”
Kierkiewicz thanked Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder for bringing the issue to the fore, but said her preference was the previous draft “where the community was recognized as a partner and a collaborator in taking care of animals.” She noted that much of the opposition came from her constituents, and echoed concerns by Kimball and Kagiwada about whether the bill, should it become law, is enforceable.
“I think it just lends itself to the kinds of choices that members of our police department must make,” Kierkiewicz said. “Are you going to answer the domestic violence call, or are you going to answer the call about somebody abandoning their cat, right? I think the former is going to win every single time.”
After a motion to delay the measure until the full council’s Sept. 3 meeting failed, Inaba said Kierkiewicz’s “points regarding the difficulty of this legislation to bring forward, I think, can’t be echoed enough.”
“I don’t support the feeding of any feral animal on county property,” Inaba said, adding he was in “strong support” of the bill. “And while we might not have everything exactly ironed out as to enforcement, I think there is a lot of opportunity for the county to work together with our community partners to figure out ways that we can relocate these cats that are homeable, euthanize cats that are feral in nature and not homeable and, ultimately, take care of the cats.”
Inaba added that there could be grant opportunities down the line for the county to help with spay-neuter clinics and the like.
Kimball, in the July 23 council meeting, said a pilot program — which would include a massive trap, neuter and return event for feral cats and their relocation to a managed cat colony — has been in the works for about two years.
Despite the removal of the amendment, which Kimball had hoped would help implement the pilot program, Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder said he thinks the initiative should still go forward.
“Can council member Kimball continue to coordinate … with the community and county and find a place for this program? I believe yes. I do, honestly, believe yes,” he said.
Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder added that the bill’s effective date of Jan. 1, 2026, “gives us a four-month time period to provide community education, provide police (notice) where we’re headed, to put up signage, and to begin to put this out to the public.
“So, we have time,” he concluded.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.