RareHawaii

THE HIGH COST OF HAVING NO CONTROL PROGRAM Free-roaming game mammals are astronomically expensive. Fencing them in will cost, but not doing it costs more. Right now, fences must be built (cost: $50,000–$125,000 per mile) and maintained for everything needing protection. With no coherent State policy on animal control and no plan to limit game animals to appropriate hunting areas, costs of animal damage and ad hoc control will be endless and limitless. Gradually shifting animals into a calculated affordable amount of fenced hunting area, and removing them outside those areas, would be cheaper than forever trying to fence animals out of countless places. A policy that allows us to begin working toward this goal is needed immediately, because implementation will take years. We must continue to fence animals out of important areas, with a long-term goal of shifting to game management areas being fenced in.
Type of game mammal damage	Related existing, future, and potential losses and expenditures by government and private sectors
Increased flooding and erosion as vegetation is destroyed: mudslides, rockfalls and reef siltation	Lost tourism as reef quality declines; netting slopes to contain rocks; repairs from mudslides and falling rocks; costs of replanting; higher insurance premiums; potential lawsuits
Uncontrolled disease reservoir for humans and livestock; contaminate water and soil with disease-causing organisms; potential vector for transfer of avian influenza and other diseases to humans; aid and abet spread of disease-carrying mosquitoes	Cost of fencing crops and stream areas; testing water, soil, and animals; medical bills; higher insurance premiums; potential loss of tourism; potential lawsuits; potential for massive human disease outbreak; loss of native bird fauna to mosquito-borne disease
Damage private property, crops, and recreational areas, threaten people around homes	Repairs to golf courses, parks, fences, crops, forestry plantings; potential injuries and lawsuits
Spread other invasive species such as strawberry guava and aggressive grasses	Millions of dollars already spent annually on invasive species control and costs are rising
Destroy native species and their habitat; prevent the recovery of rare and endangered species	Loss of cultural and social assets; loss of tourism and future economic opportunities; loss of uniqueness of Hawai‘i
Damage forests and streams, impairing the function of watersheds	Less water available at higher cost for agriculture, residents, commercial use
Cause vehicle collisions on the roads, particularly Maui	Higher insurance premiums; vehicle repairs; medical bills; cost of fencing roads; potential lawsuits




Rare Hawai‘i: It wasn’t meant to be a barnyard 70 million years of evolution. Thousands of plant and animal species found nowhere else in the world. Introduced pigs, goats, deer and sheep roaming freely over public lands. More than 265 extinctions and counting. (Note: If the format of this page looks strange, try another browser, like Firefox.)