Background
On June 12, 2024, the City and County of Honolulu took ownership of approximately 400 acres of former Navy-owned land of Kalaeloa for public park and public recreational area purposes. The City and County of Honolulu will have jurisdiction of the area, with the National Park Services (NPS) overseeing compliance with covenants and agreements contained in the deed.
The Pacific Pet Alliance, an official AKC federation, is proposing—via a petition—creation of a dedicated ten-acre animal education and training complex within the Kalaeloa Parklands. The proposal asks to include bathrooms, parking, secure indoor meeting and exhibition rooms, food preparation facilities, and secure storage areas that clubs could rent to hold equipment for dog agility, dog obedience, Fast CAT, and cages required for benched cat, rabbit, and bird shows.
What You Can Do:
1-Sign the Pacific Pet Alliance’s petition in support of the proposal!
2-Contact members of the Honolulu City Council via email in support of the proposal. Be sure to include in your message if you are a constituent!
Unsure of who your councilmember is? Click here and search by entering your home address.
Some talking points to consider adding to your message:
- There is a tremendous need for such a project as the needs of the animal community on O‘ahu have been overlooked. Given the restrictions in place in city parks and the competition for park usage with other sports groups, it’s extremely difficult to find suitable and animal -friendly venues for dog shows, dog sports, cat shows, bird shows, and 4H groups.
- The economic benefits of dog shows—surveys demonstrate that exhibitors at AKC conformation dog shows spend an average of $982 per show weekend.
- One major reason for a dog to be surrendered to a shelter is when the owner is not able to handle the animal as it has not been properly trained. An animal education and training facility within the Kalaeloa Parklands with readily available obedience classes could both increase the enjoyment of dog ownership and serve to reduce one of the causes of dogs ending up in the shelter system.
Contact info for councilmembers:
District 1: Andria Tupola, Ph.D.; atupola@honolulu.gov
District 2: Matt Weyer; mweyer@honolulu.gov
District 3: Esther Kia‘āina; ekiaaina@honolulu.gov
District 4: Tommy Waters; tommy.waters@honolulu.gov
District 5: Calvin Say; ckysay@honolulu.gov
District 6: Tyler Dos Santos-Tam; tdossantos-tam@honolulu.gov
District 7: Radiant Cordero; rcordero@honolulu.gov
District 8: Val Aquino Okimoto; valokimoto@honolulu.gov
District 9: Augie Tulba; atulba@honolulu.gov
AKC Government Relations continues to monitor proposals in Hawaii impacting dog owners and will provide updates. For questions or more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.