Environment Why The Pandemic Made It Harder To Protect Birds From Hawaii’s Feral Cats … Pauses in cat sterilization efforts during the pandemic haven’t seemed to significantly affect populations, but it will be a while before the full impacts of 2020 are clear.
The COVID-19 pandemic slowed conservation work across the state, including efforts to trap and sterilize cats that eat endangered birds.
Many conservationists feared there would be a major explosion in the number of cats as a result, posing a big risk to endangered birds, marine animals and even human health.
Although there is no official count of Hawaii’s feral cat population, neither the state, Humane Society or bird conservationists reported a dramatic increase in the population. Partly because of a spike in adoptions, increased pet food donations and because Hawaii’s economy didn’t experience the same long-term impacts that forced many people to abandon their pets after the 2008 financial crisis.
