Kokua Line June Watanabe

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Be careful if you aim at a wild pig

Question: Appreciated your article on "State can help find solutions to pig problems" ("Kokua Line," Jan. 22). What would it take me to get authorization to shoot pigs in my back yard within Honolulu city limits?

Answer: If you legally possess a firearm, there is no law preventing you from shooting a wild pig in a residential neighborhood, said Capt. Frank Fujii, spokesman for the Honolulu Police Department.

However, he cautioned you to think many times about where you live and who might be around you before taking aim at any wild animal.

It's one thing if you live in a fairly isolated rural area and another if your home is in a crowded residential neighborhood, Fujii said.

He also said if you end up injuring someone, you could be charged with reckless endangering, under Section 707-713 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.

Reckless endangering means someone "employs widely dangerous means in a manner which recklessly places another person in danger of death or serious bodily injury or intentionally fires a firearm in a manner which recklessly places another person in danger of death or serious bodily injury."

The safe bet is to have an expert deal with the problem, Fujii said. "It's not worth taking that chance."

You don't need a hunter's license to shoot a wild pig in your own yard.

However, if you are hunting pigs, whether on public or private lands -- "presumably with permission" -- you must have a hunter's license, said Deborah Ward, spokeswoman for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

A hunting license requires completion of the state's Hunter Education course. Call 587-0200 for information.

Q: At about 7:40 a.m. Monday, Jan. 28, fronting Punahou School, a police officer was directing traffic onto Wilder Avenue. He held all the cars on the main road so he could let all the never-ending cars from Punahou exit onto Wilder. I understand that he needs to do his job, but he stopped all traffic on Wilder, westbound, for almost five minutes, backing up traffic onto the freeway. I assume he was doing that the whole morning, because the Wilder exit was really backed up. Who has the right of way, the motorists on Wilder Avenue or the cars coming out of Punahou School?

A: Someone was sent to monitor the area in question, said HPD spokesman Capt. Frank Fujii.

When officers are directing traffic, the general rule of thumb is that motorists should not be held up for more than one light change, HPD told us previously.

A reminder will be sent to special-duty officers not to "hold cars up past the one cycle," Fujii said.

As to who has the right of way, whoever is directing traffic "makes the determination," he said. And that would be based on "everyone's safety -- the motorists already on the roadway, as well as the motorist who wants to turn into the driveway or exit the private driveway," he said.