At the Waikoloa Village Association Board Meeting on October 27, the Board approved funds for building a fence and corrals to keep donkeys off the WVA golf course and to catch and remove the donkeys from in and around the Village. The problem is considered urgent and they are moving forward rapidly.
The Worrisome News
The WVA has arranged for the DLNR (Hawaii Division of Land and Natural Resources)to move the donkeys by some method, unknown to me, and to a location unknown to anyone. Details on the method of movement and the location are lacking. Answering my question of where the donkeys will be moved, the response was of the "Don't ask, you don't want to know" variety.
There is no reason to believe DLNR will do anything more than dispose of the donkeys, that is, kill them. The DLNR has never to our knowledge relocated any feral animals. They kill bothersome feral animals.
The DLNR does not publicly announce most of their plans to kill feral animals. Thus the public will not know.
This is not to say we don't want to work with the DLNR, we do.
We are working to get more information from both the DLNR and WVA. We have many concerns about the safety conditions in the corrals, in transportation safety and in euthanasia methods.
Regular readers will recall, the solution to keeping donkeys off Waikoloa Road are 1) Building a strong corral and luring the donkeys in with food, 2) moving donkeys, and 3) having a safe place to put them.
Malama Waikoloa Nightingales is recommending to the WVA Board that the corrals be built close to WVA open space above the Village. We recommend the jacks (male donkeys) be gelded before release. From there, donkeys could be moved to fenced WVA open space above the Village. This option has been discussed with the WVA before, but is not now under consideration. MLM is also asking the Board to state that no donkeys will be killed.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Have New Sightings?
We've heard from the WVA staff that there may be more than two or three dozen donkeys now surrounding (and within) Waikoloa itself. These donkeys do have access to Waikoloa Road. If you have reports of donkey sightings of donkeys OUTSIDE fenced areas, please report the number of donkeys, time, date, and location to Malama Waikoloa Nightingales.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Waikoloa Nightingales in the News
Examiner.com article by Barbara DeGrande, September 10, 2009. (this article no longer available.)
Big Island Weekly Article, September 9, 2009.
"A Darker View" Waikoloa Nightingale Donkeys, October 8 – May 14, 2009.
West Hawaii Today Article, December 12, 2009.
Star Bulletin Article November 17, 2009.
West Hawaii Today Article, November 6, 2009.
West Hawaii Today Article, December 12, 2008.
Honolulu Advertiser Article, February 26, 2003
Star Bulletin Article, January 3, 2003.
Honolulu Advertiser Article, October 6, 2002.
Back in 2003 they'd been working 8 YEARS to relocate 30 donkeys from Hualalai, with no success. No one knows for sure where they went, but they were not killed.
Links move around, especially with newspaper mergers, so if something is not working, kindly email waikoloanightingale@gmail.com to let me know.
Big Island Weekly Article, September 9, 2009.
"A Darker View" Waikoloa Nightingale Donkeys, October 8 – May 14, 2009.
West Hawaii Today Article, December 12, 2009.
Star Bulletin Article November 17, 2009.
West Hawaii Today Article, November 6, 2009.
West Hawaii Today Article, December 12, 2008.
Honolulu Advertiser Article, February 26, 2003
Star Bulletin Article, January 3, 2003.
Honolulu Advertiser Article, October 6, 2002.
Back in 2003 they'd been working 8 YEARS to relocate 30 donkeys from Hualalai, with no success. No one knows for sure where they went, but they were not killed.
Links move around, especially with newspaper mergers, so if something is not working, kindly email waikoloanightingale@gmail.com to let me know.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Please Donʻt Water the Donkeys
Several people have let me know they are providing water to the donkeys, or want to.
Please do not provide them water. Honestly, they just don't need it. Providing water draws them closer to the Waikoloa streets and homes.
They are thriving, that is part of the problem! With less food and water, their fecundity would be reduced.
If they are coming in your yard to drink from your birdbath (at least two people are having this problem), I suggest you do not put water in your birdbath for a while. If you find the presence of donkeys in your yard undesirable, I recommend a strong fence, constructed within the guidelines of County laws and the Waikoloa Village Association covenants.
If you have the means to provide constantly-available water, food, and some shade for 3 dozen donkeys a short distance from town and roads, please let us know! That is one third of the solution to the problem of moving them. Another third is a place to put them, and I have a potential place for that. The final third, is moving them.
Please do not provide them water. Honestly, they just don't need it. Providing water draws them closer to the Waikoloa streets and homes.
They are thriving, that is part of the problem! With less food and water, their fecundity would be reduced.
If they are coming in your yard to drink from your birdbath (at least two people are having this problem), I suggest you do not put water in your birdbath for a while. If you find the presence of donkeys in your yard undesirable, I recommend a strong fence, constructed within the guidelines of County laws and the Waikoloa Village Association covenants.
If you have the means to provide constantly-available water, food, and some shade for 3 dozen donkeys a short distance from town and roads, please let us know! That is one third of the solution to the problem of moving them. Another third is a place to put them, and I have a potential place for that. The final third, is moving them.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
*STATUS* There Will (Always) Be Donkeys On Waikoloa Road
Malama Waikoloa Nightingales is currently at a standstill.
The only way to capture the donkeys for return to fenced areas is to set up a corral and lure them with tasty donkey bait. Even if there were money to accomplish this, there might not be skilled people willing to implement it.
Until there we find someone willing to describe how to build a corral and how much it costs and what it takes to moves donkeys from the corral a short distance to a fenced location, there is not a great deal more we can do.
We'll continue to provide information and take sightings, and keep our (donkey) ears open for possible new ideas.
After a wide community effort, it appears that the donkeys that escaped fencing will continue to remain outside fencing and have access to Waikoloa Road. The last time anyone got a good look, several jennies were pregnant, so there will be more, soon. (Mating is a year-round, not seasonal, process.)
We regret we cannot find a solution at this time. We spoke with ranchers, our (famed, local) large-animal vet, bureaucrats, elected officials, land owners, animal rights groups, and a whole bunch of other people.
We made a final report to the South Kohala Traffic Safety Committee that includes the details. This was forwarded to the Mayor's office, along with a thank you letter, by the South Kohala Traffic Safety Committee.
No one is required to keep the donkeys off the road. Landowners are not legally responsible for feral animals on their land. Hawaii County is not required to mitigate the hazard beyond putting up warning signs.
Round-ups proved problematic: donkeys don't behave like cattle and sheep. Valuable, trained horses risk injury on the uneven, rocky terrain.
The only way to capture the donkeys for return to fenced areas is to set up a corral and lure them with tasty donkey bait. Even if there were money to accomplish this, there might not be skilled people willing to implement it.
Until there we find someone willing to describe how to build a corral and how much it costs and what it takes to moves donkeys from the corral a short distance to a fenced location, there is not a great deal more we can do.
We'll continue to provide information and take sightings, and keep our (donkey) ears open for possible new ideas.
After a wide community effort, it appears that the donkeys that escaped fencing will continue to remain outside fencing and have access to Waikoloa Road. The last time anyone got a good look, several jennies were pregnant, so there will be more, soon. (Mating is a year-round, not seasonal, process.)
We regret we cannot find a solution at this time. We spoke with ranchers, our (famed, local) large-animal vet, bureaucrats, elected officials, land owners, animal rights groups, and a whole bunch of other people.
We made a final report to the South Kohala Traffic Safety Committee that includes the details. This was forwarded to the Mayor's office, along with a thank you letter, by the South Kohala Traffic Safety Committee.
No one is required to keep the donkeys off the road. Landowners are not legally responsible for feral animals on their land. Hawaii County is not required to mitigate the hazard beyond putting up warning signs.
Round-ups proved problematic: donkeys don't behave like cattle and sheep. Valuable, trained horses risk injury on the uneven, rocky terrain.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
*STATUS* Why Won't the DLNR Take Care of the Donkeys?
While the State Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Wildlife and Fisheries Management Division technically can take responsibility for feral animals, they cannot help us with our mission. (See "About" to the right of this page.) Our mission includes concern "about the safety of both people and donkeys."
Contact with DLNR was made by other Malama Waikoloa Nightingales stakeholders, including the County of Hawaii, where they received a run-around. ("The person who does that is new so we can't send him out or let you talk to him." "New" meant several months. "We don't have enough money."
We do get the sense that they care, though, and that they are happy we are working on the problem. They don't want to kill DONKEYS.
We did not invite DLNR to solve the problem because DLNR's mission is to protect native species. If species were threatened, the first choice of DLNR has historically been a public hunt, followed by an aerial slaughter.
The DLNR's last method of choice is fencing. Fencing IN the endangered species, fencing OUT the feral animals. Thanks to the efforts of the Waikoloa Village Outdoor Circle, several of Waikoloa's endangered trees on WVA property are protected from goats, by fencing. (Mahalo, WVOC!)
DLNR usually does not publicize their events except for public hunts. For example, they killed feral animals (pigs and goats) on Mauna Kea earlier this year, with no notice to the public. Typically they leave the animals in place to rot.
Not to raise undue alarm about public safety, given the proximity of homes and unexploded ordinance, the DLNR would not likely dispose of the donkeys by hunting. Similarly, given the proximity to homes, they would not likely leave the carcasses to rot (as they have done after aerial hunts of cattle). However, Mamalahoa Waikoloa Nightingales thinks it unlikely DLNR would announce to the general public exactly what is going on.
Contact with DLNR was made by other Malama Waikoloa Nightingales stakeholders, including the County of Hawaii, where they received a run-around. ("The person who does that is new so we can't send him out or let you talk to him." "New" meant several months. "We don't have enough money."
We do get the sense that they care, though, and that they are happy we are working on the problem. They don't want to kill DONKEYS.
We did not invite DLNR to solve the problem because DLNR's mission is to protect native species. If species were threatened, the first choice of DLNR has historically been a public hunt, followed by an aerial slaughter.
The DLNR's last method of choice is fencing. Fencing IN the endangered species, fencing OUT the feral animals. Thanks to the efforts of the Waikoloa Village Outdoor Circle, several of Waikoloa's endangered trees on WVA property are protected from goats, by fencing. (Mahalo, WVOC!)
DLNR usually does not publicize their events except for public hunts. For example, they killed feral animals (pigs and goats) on Mauna Kea earlier this year, with no notice to the public. Typically they leave the animals in place to rot.
Not to raise undue alarm about public safety, given the proximity of homes and unexploded ordinance, the DLNR would not likely dispose of the donkeys by hunting. Similarly, given the proximity to homes, they would not likely leave the carcasses to rot (as they have done after aerial hunts of cattle). However, Mamalahoa Waikoloa Nightingales thinks it unlikely DLNR would announce to the general public exactly what is going on.
Monday, July 20, 2009
For Your Own Safety, Please Don't Harrass the Donkeys
While donkeys are not particularly aggressive, they will respond if they feel threatened. Jennies (female donkeys) are especially protective of their young. Donkeys may warn you with hissing, baring of teeth and stomping when they want you to back off. Donkeys have a very powerful kick that could definitely cause serious injury, so don't provoke them.
Remember, animals respond to perceived threats, which may not be actual threats. Keep your pets and children within fenced areas of your yard.
Remember, animals respond to perceived threats, which may not be actual threats. Keep your pets and children within fenced areas of your yard.
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