About Hawaiʻi Animal Advocacy

Building Humane, Science-Based and Accountable Solutions for Animals, Wildlife and Communities

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OUR MISSION

Hawaiʻi Animal Advocacy (HAA) is a Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit organization advancing humane, evidence-based and accountable solutions for animal welfare, community cat population management, native wildlife protection, public health and public policy.

We believe lasting solutions require more than simple narratives, political slogans or one-size-fits-all policies. Complex challenges require sound evidence, community engagement, collaboration, transparency and measurable outcomes.

HAA works to:

  • Reduce animal suffering

  • Achieve sustained reductions in unmanaged cat populations

  • Protect native wildlife and sensitive habitats

  • Improve public-health and One Health outcomes

  • Strengthen government accountability

  • Help communities participate meaningfully in public policy

At the center of our work is a simple principle:

Effective policy must be humane, science-based and accountable for results.

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WHY HAA EXISTS

For decades, public debates involving community cats and wildlife in Hawaiʻi have often become deeply polarized.

One side focuses primarily on animal welfare.

Another focuses primarily on conservation.

Too often, the two sides talk past one another while unmanaged cat populations continue to reproduce, wildlife conflicts persist, public resources are spent without clear measures of success, and communities become increasingly divided.

HAA was founded to move the conversation beyond ideology and toward practical solutions that address root causes rather than symptoms.

We reject the idea that Hawaiʻi must choose between protecting native wildlife and treating animals humanely.

Hawaiʻi can—and must—do both.

That requires preventing reproduction, reducing abandonment, professionally managing community cat populations, protecting sensitive wildlife areas and holding every public program accountable for measurable outcomes.

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WHAT HAA DOES

HAA works at the intersection of animal welfare, conservation science, One Health, public policy and community engagement.

Our work includes:

  • Researching animal and wildlife policy

  • Reviewing legislation and administrative rules

  • Preparing testimony, policy briefs and educational materials

  • Translating scientific research for the public and decision-makers

  • Developing management frameworks and professional standards

  • Evaluating government programs and public spending

  • Supporting humane, evidence-based population management

  • Promoting conservation evidence and accountability

  • Educating candidates and voters about animal-related public policy

  • Building greater public participation in government decision-making

HAA does not advocate for inaction.

We advocate for actions that are appropriate to the location, supported by evidence and capable of producing sustained results.

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THE COEXISTENCE FRAMEWORK™ 2.1

HAA developed the Coexistence Framework™ as a Hawaiʻi-specific, place-based model for balancing animal welfare, conservation priorities, public health and community needs.

The framework recognizes that different cats, locations and environmental conditions require different management strategies.

PET ZONE

Owned cats should be sterilized, identified and responsibly managed.

Communities should provide accessible spay/neuter services, promote permanent identification, support responsible pet ownership and prevent abandonment and unmanaged reproduction.

COMMUNITY ZONE

Community cats should be managed through coordinated strategies that may include:

  • Targeted Trap-Neuter-Return

  • High sterilization coverage

  • Adoption and kitten intervention

  • Professional colony management

  • Controlled feeding and sanitation

  • Newcomer monitoring

  • Caretaker accountability

  • Population tracking

  • Measurable population reduction

WILDLIFE ZONE

Sensitive ecological areas require specialized, site-specific wildlife protection strategies.

Depending on the species, habitat and level of demonstrated risk, appropriate measures may include:

  • Cat exclusion

  • Protective fencing

  • Geographic buffers

  • Relocation or adoption

  • Targeted removal

  • Habitat restoration

  • Management of rats, mongooses, dogs or other predators

  • Disease control

  • Monitoring of wildlife populations and conservation outcomes

Wildlife-zone decisions should be based on reliable predator identification, species-specific evidence and an evaluation of all significant factors affecting the wildlife population.

The Coexistence Framework™ emphasizes adaptive management, continuous evaluation and measurable outcomes rather than applying one policy to every cat in every location.

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MANAGED VS. UNMANAGED CATS

One of HAA’s central distinctions is the difference between managed and unmanaged cat populations.

Managed community cats are:

  • Sterilized

  • Monitored

  • Provided controlled food and clean water

  • Managed through sanitary feeding practices

  • Evaluated for illness and injury

  • Monitored for newcomers

  • Removed for adoption when appropriate

  • Managed toward population reduction

Unmanaged populations may experience:

  • Continued kitten births

  • High population turnover

  • Untreated illness and injury

  • Abandonment of additional cats

  • Scavenging and uncontrolled feeding

  • Migration between locations

  • No meaningful population data

  • No accountable management plan

Unmanaged cats are a problem. Professional management is part of the solution.

Management does not mean that every cat should remain in every location. It means using the appropriate humane and effective intervention for the specific cat population, community and environment.

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OUR APPROACH

HAA promotes policies and programs that are:

  • Humane

  • Science-based

  • Transparent

  • Accountable

  • Place-based

  • Outcome-focused

  • Consistent with Aloha ʻĀina values

We support:

  • Accessible pet and community-cat sterilization

  • Targeted, high-impact Trap-Neuter-Return

  • Adoption and kitten-intervention programs

  • Professional community cat colony management

  • Responsible pet ownership

  • Abandonment prevention

  • Community education

  • One Health strategies

  • Data-driven decision-making

  • Site-specific wildlife protection

  • Transparent government reporting

  • Measurable population and conservation outcomes

We oppose relying solely on feeding prohibitions, starvation, indiscriminate removal, punitive enforcement or simplistic policies that fail to address reproduction, abandonment, immigration and other underlying causes.

A feeding ban does not sterilize a cat, prevent a litter or stop abandonment.

Removal without prevention and long-term monitoring does not constitute a complete population-management strategy.

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CONSERVATION EVIDENCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Protecting Hawaiʻi’s native wildlife requires more than assigning blame.

Wildlife populations may be affected by multiple interacting factors, including:

  • Habitat loss and degradation

  • Mosquito-borne disease

  • Climate change

  • Food limitations

  • Artificial lighting

  • Power lines and infrastructure

  • Human disturbance

  • Rats

  • Mongooses

  • Dogs

  • Cats

  • Other introduced species

The presence of a predator—or evidence that an individual animal was killed—does not by itself establish that the predator is the primary factor limiting the wildlife population.

HAA advocates for conservation decisions that:

  • Reliably identify the responsible predator or cause of mortality

  • Distinguish individual incidents from population-level effects

  • Evaluate all significant limiting factors

  • Use species- and site-specific evidence

  • Define measurable conservation objectives

  • Monitor outcomes before and after intervention

  • Reconsider strategies that do not produce results

  • Report findings transparently to the public

Real conservation requires rigorous evidence, meaningful transparency and accountability for whether wildlife populations actually benefit.

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CONSERVATION EVIDENCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS

HAA is developing a comprehensive set of standards for evaluating wildlife-management proposals, public policies, conservation programs, predator-attribution claims and wildlife-mortality investigations.

This work incorporates four central questions:

Predator Attribution

Was the responsible predator or cause of death reliably identified?

Limiting-Factor Analysis

Is the identified threat actually limiting the survival or recovery of the wildlife population?

Demographic Significance

Does the available evidence demonstrate a meaningful population-level effect rather than only an individual incident?

Outcome Monitoring

Did the intervention produce a sustained improvement in wildlife survival, reproduction or population recovery?

The purpose is straightforward:

Raise the standard for conservation decision-making in Hawaiʻi.

Claims, recommendations and public policies should be evaluated against accepted scientific principles—not assumptions, ideology or political pressure.

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PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY CAT MANAGEMENT

HAA is also developing a Professional Community Cat Colony Management Standard.

The standard is intended to move colony care beyond informal feeding and establish a disciplined, humane and accountable management practice.

Areas under development include:

  • Colony assessment and registration

  • Sterilization requirements

  • Controlled feeding and sanitation

  • Population monitoring

  • Kitten intervention and adoption

  • Newcomer response

  • Veterinary care

  • Neighbor and property-owner relations

  • Wildlife-sensitive practices

  • Emergency planning

  • Recordkeeping

  • Caretaker conduct and accountability

  • Population-reduction objectives

  • Coordination with government and conservation programs

The long-term goal is to support authoritative training and certification grounded in animal welfare, population-management science, One Health and conservation accountability.

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PUBLIC POLICY AND VOTER ENGAGEMENT

HAA participates in legislative, regulatory and local government processes involving animal welfare, community cats, conservation and public health.

Our work includes reviewing proposed laws, submitting testimony, preparing policy analyses and helping residents understand how government decisions affect animals, wildlife and communities.

In 2026, HAA launched the HAA Election Center to help Hawaiʻi County voters understand where County Council candidates stand on humane animal policy, evidence-based cat management, wildlife protection and government accountability.

The Election Center includes candidate questionnaires, policy assessments and educational resources intended to support informed voting and constructive engagement with elected officials.

HAA does not tell voters whom they must support. We provide information so residents can make informed decisions based on their own values and priorities.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Greg “Puʻuwai Aloha” Baker, MBA

President and Executive Director

Greg “Puʻuwai Aloha” Baker is the founder of Hawaiʻi Animal Advocacy and creator of the Coexistence Framework™.

He holds a Master of Business Administration and earned a Community Cat Program Management Certificate through the University of the Pacific. His studies included humane population management, Trap-Neuter-Return, shelter operations, program development and community engagement under nationally recognized community cat educator Stacey LeBaron.

A resident of Hawaiʻi Island for more than 23 years, Greg has extensive hands-on experience in community cat management, colony care, trapping and high-volume spay/neuter programs.

He has personally trapped and supported the sterilization of more than 100 community cats. Through approximately two years of volunteer service with PetFix Spay/Neuter MASH clinics, he has helped support the care and recovery of thousands of cats receiving sterilization services and currently oversees the clinic’s Post-Operative Recovery area and volunteer team.

In 2025, Greg led community opposition to Hawaiʻi County Bill 51, which restricted feeding animals on county property. The campaign generated more than 7,600 petition signatures and helped support the submission of more than 1,600 written testimonies before the County Council.

His professional background includes financial planning and analysis, budgeting, nonprofit finance, executive reporting, operational systems and program accountability.

His work increasingly focuses on integrating animal welfare, conservation science, One Health, professional population management and public accountability into a coherent model capable of improving outcomes for animals, wildlife and Hawaiʻi communities.

Hung “Adam” Nguyen

Secretary

Josette “KumuK” Kaohu

Treasurer

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ORGANIZATIONAL STATUS

Hawaiʻi Animal Advocacy is incorporated as a Hawaiʻi nonprofit organization.

Federal EIN: 39-3399667

HAA operates as an advocacy, research and public-education organization focused on animal welfare, community cat population management, conservation policy, public health, government accountability and community engagement throughout Hawaiʻi.

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OUR GUIDING COMMITMENT

Protect wildlife. Reduce unmanaged cat populations. Support communities. Measure results.

Hawaiʻi does not need to choose between compassion and conservation.

It needs policies capable of delivering both.

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