LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council adopted debated legislation forbidding the feeding of feral cats on county property, in a unanimous vote on Wednesday.
Bill No. 2842 also shortens hold times for microchipped cats at the Kaua‘i Humane Society and prohibits the abandonment of cats islandwide. But the ban on feeding, which complies with the Kaua‘i Seabird Habitat Conservation Plan, triggered protest from individuals and “community cat” groups.
“The feeding ban was incredibly controversial, generating well over a thousand letters of both support and opposition,” Councilmember Luke Evslin, who co-authored the bill with Council Vice Chair Mason Chock, wrote on Facebook Thursday morning.
Numerous speakers provided oral testimony for and against the bill, throughout the months-long legislative process.
However, debate prior to Wednesday’s council vote proved shorter than anticipated, when Councilmember Felicia Cowden scrapped a scheduled discussion on seabirds, feral cats and cat sanctuaries on Kaua‘i.
“It was too aggressive a goal to manage in a short amount of time,” said Cowden, who initially requested the discussion at the council’s Feb. 23 meeting.
Last month, Cowden indicated the discussion was part of her plan to satisfy both opponents and proponents of the bill, through construction of a fenced-in cat sanctuary that would likely require private, county and state funding.
This week, Cowden repeated her idea was spurred by unidentified residents’ plans to sue if the feeding ban was passed.
“What caused me to go look at cat sanctuaries was being informed by really critical members of our community that lawsuits would happen, and that there would be an effort to stop this,” she said. “So, I was trying to redirect that funding challenge.”
Cowden’s fellow councilmembers cited county responsibility, or kuleana, when voicing support for the feeding ban.
“The county, in my mind, is taking on that responsibility of being responsible property owners,” Chock said.
Evslin also reiterated Kaua‘i’s legal obligations.
“The feeding prohibition in this bill is a legal requirement of the Kaua‘i Habitat Conservation Plan,” he said. “There doesn’t seem to be any way around that for us, as long as we want to maintain nighttime lights as a county and not get fined or prosecuted (by the federal government under the U.S. Endangered Species Act).”
Councilmember KipuKai Kuali‘i noted affected lights include high schools’ Friday night lights games, before voting to adopt the bill.
Cowden did not share her colleagues’ apparent enthusiasm.
“I very much want to help the birds, so my reticence hasn’t been about not helping the birds,” she said. “This seems just not a great way to do it. But it’s better than nothing.”
Bill No. 2842 must go to the Mayor’s Office for approval. If signed into law, it will take effect on Jan. 1, 2023.
