STAND. COM. REP. NO.  825

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2025

 

RE:   H.B. No. 980

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

 

Madame:

 

     Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 980 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ANIMALS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to amend the law authorizing the killing of mongoose by clarifying the circumstances under which mongoose may be killed and authorizing feral chickens to be killed under certain circumstances.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Self-Advocacy Advisory Council and one individual.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from Animal Rights Hawaiʻi; Hawaiian Humane Society; and five individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Agriculture and Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu.

 

     Your Committee finds that the growing population of feral chickens has become a significant nuisance in residential areas.  Beyond being a public nuisance, feral chickens also present a serious health risk as potential carriers of H5N1 avian influenza, a highly contagious disease that threatens native bird species and public health.  This measure addresses these concerns by allowing the humane removal of feral chickens from private property with landowner permission, helping to mitigate health risks.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Clarifying the authorized methods for killing feral chickens on private land; and

 

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 980, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 980, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair