NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Kauai considers ways to reduce feral cat tally

LIHUE >> Kauai is considering how to reduce a feral cat population blamed for killing threatened native seabirds. 

The Garden Island newspaper reported potential measures include prohibiting the feeding and sheltering of cats on county-owned or managed properties. Other proposals would strengthen current cat licensing laws and create a free, county-funded spay or neuter program.

An 11-member Feral Cat Task Force compiled the proposals. The group recommended that the island have zero feral, abandoned and stray cats by 2025.

Mayor Bernard Carvalho’s administration will consider the ideas while drafting legislation to reduce the feral cat population. 

Cats are a major threat to Kauai’s native seabirds, whose populations are declining. 

Officials last week released video showing cats pulling a Newell’s shearwater and a Hawaiian petrel out of burrows and killing the birds.

Drive-thru registration to be available

The Kauai County Clerk’s Elections Division will provide drive-thru voter registration services in the parking area fronting the Historic County Building and Annex Building from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

The 2014 primary election voter registration deadline is Thursday.

To register to vote, an individual must complete a voter registration affidavit and show a current and valid photo identification, such as a Hawaii state ID or driver’s license.

Registered voters who wish to update their registration information or apply for an absentee mail ballot can also use this drive-thru service.

Star-Advertiser staff and Associated Press