Feral cat lurking around a nesting Moli (Laysan Albatross) with a newly-hatched chick. Shortly afterwards, mom was seen standing with no chick. The baby was only a couple days old.

Feral cat lurking around a nesting Moli (Laysan Albatross) with a newly-hatched chick. Shortly afterwards, mom was seen standing with no chick. The baby was only a couple days old.

Greater Good Activities on Kaua‘i – Background and Recommendations

7-16-21

Greater Good (GG) is planning trap-neuter-release (TNR) activities on Kaua‘i. GG was hosted by Kaua‘i Humane Society (KHS) for a zoom meeting with Kaua‘i Wildlife Coalition (KWC) on June 22nd, 2021, where GG outlined their intentions. Following that meeting, the KWC has the following comments and recommendations:

Background

Kaua‘i is a Noah’s Ark for endangered and endemic native Hawaiian birds, particularly wetland birds and seabirds, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. For species such as the ‘Alae ‘ula (Hawaiian Common Gallinule), Kaua‘i is the last stronghold— there are less than 1,000 individuals (Reed et al, 2011). They evolved without mammalian predators and have no defenses against them.

Allowing cats to roam free on the landscape is a disaster for these birds.

In a two-year period (2012–2014), 305 native waterbirds were killed by feral cats in Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge on Kaua‘i, including over 205 ‘Alae ‘ula (Hawaiian Gallinule) and ‘Alae ke‘oke‘o (Hawaiian Coot). Ninety-four percent of the total kills were endangered birds of several species (Uyehara & Bernhardt, 2015). That is a major crisis for any endangered bird species. A similar pattern was found by refuge staff between 2014–2018 (Uyehara, K. pers. comm, 2020). The threatened ‘A‘o (Newell’s Shearwater) and endangered ‘Ua‘u (Hawaiian Petrel) are similarly at risk both when breeding and when chicks are ‘downed’ by attraction to artificial light on their maiden flight. On the coast, large-scale kills of ‘Ua‘u kani (Wedge-tailed Shearwater) are regularly reported, in some cases numbering over a hundred birds in a single incident, such as at Makahuena Point in 2020 (Raine, A. pers. comm 2020). Many more native birds are killed each year on Kaua‘i and are never reported.

In addition, free-roaming cats are carriers of diseases such as toxoplasmosis (Aguirre et al., 2019), which is spread through cat feces. Toxoplasmosis is a threat to healthy watersheds, and it travels downstream in high enough concentrations to kill marine mammals such as the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals, Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins (NOAA, 2020) and Humpback Whales. Several relevant papers on toxoplasmosis can be found here https://www.usgs.gov/science-explorer-results?es=Toxoplasmosis). Toxoplamosis is also dangerous to humans, where it causes miscarriage (Kheirandish, et al., 2019), birth defects, and can be fatal.

Recommendations

1) We support Greater Good’s efforts to spay and neuter owned indoor pet cats and believe that if this is coupled with keeping cats indoors, it will have a positive benefit for the community and wildlife. We strongly recommend that when pet owners arrive, they are provided with information explaining why cats belong indoors and the benefits this confers upon native birds and cats.

2) Trap-Neuter-Release is inappropriate as a feral cat management strategy on Kaua’i and Hawai‘i. TNR has been repeatedly shown to be a wholly ineffective method for reducing feral cat populations, with multiple studies around the world providing rigorous data to show that it does not reduce feral cat populations (Castillo & Clarke, 2003; Longhorns et al, 2009; Marta and Santella, 2016) and is not an ethical solution (Crawford et al, 2019). Furthermore, spayed/neutered cats which remain outside are still a threat to human health, endangered birds, and marine mammals. Cats belong indoors to protect the delicate balance of our ecosystems in the isolated Hawaiian Islands; it is safer for the cats, and it is essential for the threatened and endangered birds, which are legally protected by the Federal and State of Hawai‘i’s Endangered Species Act. We strongly recommend that dollars be diverted away from TNR of feral cats, into the building of fenced sanctuaries to house cats that cannot be either rehomed or adopted. Consideration should also be given to the long-term support of sanctuaries, which will otherwise be at risk of failure. We understand that GG and KHS have a policy of no euthanasia; however, no cats should be released back into the Kaua‘i landscape.

3) Where unowned cats are trapped and are found to be friendly, they should be delivered to KHS for adoption after neutering, rather than being released.

4) A comprehensive study of Hawai‘i residents by Lohr and Lepczyk in 2014 revealed that the vast majority of Hawai‘i residents do not wish to see feral cats on the landscape for a variety of reasons, including human health. We urge GG to take those local views into account before establishing their plan of work here on Kaua‘i.

5) No applicants to the Kaua‘i Seabird Habitat Conservation Plan (KSHCP) are able to approve TNR activities on their land. Any cats caught must be permanently removed from these properties, including properties owned by the County of Kaua‘i. For a full list of applicants, see this link https://fws.gov/pacificislands/documents/KSHCP/Kauai-Seabird-HCP.pdf

6) The County of Kaua‘i legally requires the chipping of all cats (Ordinance No. 1093 - The Cat Microchipping Bill). The bill includes ‘temporary custody’ within its definition of ownership. TNR cats should also be ear-tipped to indicate that they are from a feral colony.

7) We do not support TNR in Kaua‘i and urge that this aspect of Greater Good’s work be reconsidered. However, if it goes ahead, it is imperative that releases do not take place within at least 2 miles of any location with threatened and endangered waterbirds, native seabird colonies, particularly Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and Laysan Albatross, or the known resting places of Hawaiian Monk Seals. Releases should also be well away from areas where children and pregnant women might be exposed to toxoplasmosis, particularly beaches.

We thank you in advance for your consideration of these points.

Kaua‘i Wildlife Coalition

Members: American Bird Conservancy, Archipelago Research and Conservation, Hallux Ecosystem Restoration, Kauai Albatross Network, Hanalei Watershed Hui

 

Citations

Castillo, D. & Clarke, A.L. (2003). Trap/neuter/release methods ineffective in controlling domestic cat "colonies" on public lands. Natural Areas Journal. 23. 247-253.

Aguirre, A.A., Longcore, T., Barbieri, M. et al. The One Health Approach to Toxoplasmosis: Epidemiology, Control, and Prevention Strategies. EcoHealth 16, 378–390 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-019-01405-7

Crawford et al. 2019 “A Case of Letting the Cat out of the Bag - Why TNR is not an ethical solution for Stray Cat (Felis catus) Management. Animals (Basel). 2019 Apr; 9(4): 171.

Kheirandish, F., Ezatpour, B., Fallahi, S. H., Tarahi, M. J., Hosseini, P., Karimi Rouzbahani, A., Seyyed, Tabaei, S. J., & Akbari, S. (2019). Toxoplasma Serology Status and Risk of Miscarriage, A Case-Control Study among Women with A History of Spontaneous Abortion. International journal of fertility & sterility, 13(3), 184–189.\ https://doi.org/10.22074/ijfs.2019.5740

Lohr, C. A., & Lepczyk, C. A. (2014). Desires and management preferences of stakeholders regarding feral cats in the Hawaiian Islands. Conservation Biology, 28(2), 392-403.

Longhorns, et al., 2009 Critical Assessment of Claims Regarding Management of Feral Cats by Trap-Neuter-Return”. Society for Conservation Biology Vol. 24, No. 4, 887-894.

NOAA (2020) The Toll of Toxoplasmosis: Protozoal Disease Has Now Claimed the Lives of 12 Monk Seals and Left Another Fighting to Survive. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/toll- toxoplasmosis-protozoal-disease-has-now-claimed-lives-12-monk-seals-and-left

Marra, P and Santella, C. (2016) Chap. 7 Trap-Neuter-Return: A Palatable Solution that is No Solution At All. Cat Wars; The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer. Princeton University Press. pp 121-143

Reed et al. (2011) Reed JM, Elphick CS, Ieno EN, Zurr AF. Long-term population trends of endangered Hawaiian waterbirds. Population Ecology. 2011;53:473–481. doi: 10.1007/s10144-011- 0262-9.

Uyehara, K and Bernhardt, B (2015) Depredated Carcasses of Endangered and Migratory Waterbirds 2012-2014, Hanalei NWR, Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i. Report prepared by Kaua‘i National Wildlife Refuge Complex.