HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

13

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the department of land and natural resources to prepare a plan to reduce the statewide feral pig population.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, during the Regular Session of 2006, the Legislature adopted House Resolution No. 98, H.D. 2, S.D. 1 (2006), which acknowledged that feral pigs are an invasive species that damage the environment and threaten the survival of native forests birds and other species; and

 

     WHEREAS, the migration of feral pigs from state land to residential areas has caused property damage and disturbances that effect the health, safety, and welfare of area residents; and

 

     WHEREAS, in connection with its duty to manage and administer forests, forest reserves, public hunting areas, and natural areas, the Department of Land and Natural Resources has attempted to control feral pig populations by scheduled hunting seasons; and

 

     WHEREAS, despite an increase in the feral pig population and the corresponding environmental damage in residential areas such as Manoa and Tantalus, the Department of Land and Natural Resources has shortened the feral pig hunting season, allowing the population to remain steady, if not increase; and

 

     WHEREAS, by House Resolution No. 98, H.D. 1, S.D. 1 (2006), Legislature requested the Department of Land and Natural Resources to prepare a plan to identify areas where feral pigs are a problem and to reduce the feral pig population; and

 

     WHEREAS, any plan developed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources to reduce the feral pig population should include provisions to reimburse private hunters for certain costs incurred in assisting the Department of Land and Natural Resources to control and reduce the feral pig population; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to prepare a plan or to amend an existing plan to identify areas where feral pigs are a problem and reduce the feral pig population by considering, but not being limited to, the following:

 

     (1)  Expanding game management areas;

 

     (2)  Expanding public hunting areas;

 

     (3)  Extending the hunting season for feral pigs from seasonal to year round;

 

     (4)  Eliminating the bag limit on feral pigs;

 

     (5)  Contracting with licensed private hunters for the removal of pigs, in which the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to include:

 

          (A)  Reimbursement to licensed private hunters for mileage traveled from the licensed private hunter's residence to the removal area at a rate of $0.485 per mile; and

 

          (B)  Reimbursement to licensed private hunters for the cost of one trap used by the licensed private hunter to capture feral pigs; and

 

     (6)  Providing cash bounties to licensed hunter for each feral pig capture; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to confer with the Hawaiian Humane Society and hunting organizations when preparing the plan; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to submit the plan, along with findings and recommendations, to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2009; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, who in turn is requested to transmit copies to the appropriate hunting organizations and to the President of the Hawaiian Humane Society.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Feral Pigs; Population Reduction; DLNR