RareHawaii

DEVELOPING A GAME MAMMAL CONTROL STRATEGY MAKES ECONOMIC SENSE With no invasive vertebrate policy or strategic plan to cope with game mammal overpopulation, the costs of animal damage and ad hoc control will be endless. Taxpayers are funding a game program that sets take restrictions on the same animals that are degrading public land and water resources. Fencing important areas often costs $50,000 to $125,000 per mile. If our watershed forests are not better protected from pigs, goats, sheep, deer, and feral cattle, Hawai'i residents may face water shortages. Farmers must pay for special fencing around orchards, crops, and livestock or accept the cost of pig and deer predation. Feral pigs are known to kill high percentages of young livestock such as lambs and kids, to totally destroy taro fields, and to eat 40% or more of the macadamia nuts from the ground before they can be gathered by the orchardist.
Type of game mammal damage	Related existing, future, and potential losses and expenditures by government and private sectors
Damage forests and streams, impairing the function of watersheds	Less water available at higher cost for agriculture, residents, commercial use
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 at a time when people have many travel options
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
Cause vehicle collisions on the roads, particularly where deer are present	Higher insurance premiums; vehicle repairs; medical bills; cost of fencing roads; potential lawsuits
Feral pig damage along Kawailoa Trail, Oahu. Photo courtesy Nathan Yuen, HawaiianForest.com




Rare Hawai‘i: Promoting better management of invasive animals in the islands Millions of years of evolution in isolation. Thousands of plant and animal species found nowhere else in the world. Introduced pigs, goats, deer, sheep, and wild cattle destroying native species, crops, and watersheds. More than 265 extinctions and counting.