(BIVN) – A Hilo woman has been issued two citations after she appeared to be feeding feral cats in Queen Liliʻuokalani Park and Gardens on Monday, April 29, and Saturday, April 27.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources says officers from its Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) allege 66-year-old Doreen Torres violated state endangered and threatened species laws which prohibit the feeding of protected wildlife, since nēnē may eat the cat food.

From a DLNR news release:

DOCARE has stepped up patrols in the park, after it was reported last week that a one-month-old nēnē gosling died there. Toxoplasmosis, a disease carried in the feces of cats, is implicated in the gosling’s death.

The DLNR issued a news release about how the feeding of feral cats relate to the nēnē gosling death, earlier in the day on Wednesday.

“We don’t want to go after them with fines and citations,” said Raymond McGuire, a wildlife biologist with the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife. “But their actions are having a clear effect on our native wildlife and our threatened endangered wildlife. Not just nēnē, but monk seals. And not just toxoplasmosis, but cats attack and eat native birds. We want people to understand there’s a place for these cats. Keep them home. Never abandon a cat.”

About one year ago, the DLNR made an effort to put an end to cat-feeding stations in the parking lot of Queens’ Marketplace in Waikoloa, over similar concerns related to nēnē. 

“I think the cat community are animal lovers and I think they mean well,” said Jordan Lerma of Nēnē Research and Conservation. “We just need to be able to work together to solve these hard problems that prioritize native species.” 

“I think a lot of these people are putting their life savings on the line to care for these animals that they love. I want to acknowledge and respect that. We want to facilitate these conversations with county, state, and federal officials in order to give these people the resources they need to be able to remove, eliminate, or reduce cat interactions with native species,” Lerma added. 

The DLNR says Torres is schedule to appear in Hilo District Court on June 21. The charges against her are both misdemeanors.