RareHawaii

THE HIGH COST OF HAVING NO GAME MAMMAL CONTROL STRATEGY Free-roaming game mammals are astronomically expensive. Continuing to ignore what they are doing to the islands costs more. Right now, fences must be built at a cost of$50,000–$125,000 per mile and maintained for everything needing protection from introduced game mammals: orchards and other crops, native forests, endangered species, golf courses, parks, residences . . . With no coherent State policy or strategic plan to cope with game mammal overpopulation, the costs of animal damage and ad hoc control will be endless and limitless. Right now taxpayers foot the bill to enforce poaching laws that protect invasive hoofed animals. We also pay for a game program that apparently pleases no one, conservationists or hunters.
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; need to net 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; 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 Millions of years of evolution in isolation. 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.)