Another Side of the Story
Another Side of the Story
New quarantine plan is
as onerous, unnecessary
as the current system
Reading new articles about Argentina's desperate state of collapse reminded me in many ways of Hawaii's direction. In spite of warnings, Hawaii continues to support a morally bankrupt patronage system of government that has long since forgotten its purpose — to serve all the people of Hawaii.Hawaii's infrastructure is crumbling, education has hit bottom, yet they still vigorously dig deeper, and the Democratic Party-controlled Legislature continues to bleed the economy with high taxes and fees.
Cases of blatant corruption are finally being addressed, but the job is just beginning, and it is an enormous task. Systemic bureaucratic intransigence prevents positive change.
One example is the Pet Quarantine System in place since 1912 without ever finding or screening even one case of rabies. In spite of numerous scientific studies supporting the use of vaccines, microchip identification and blood tests as a safer means to prevent rabies, the state veterinarian, James Foppoli, insists on perpetuating systems of the past to maintain the quarantine "fiefdom."
He has now presented a new proposal intended to divert our attention from the state-sponsored "kidnap for ransom" systems in place.
A five-day stay in quarantine will cost $525, $655 for 30 days, and $1,080 for 120 days. The newly proposed five-day stay sounds like an improvement, but is just the opposite. To take advantage of this, a pet has to have two 3-year vaccinations within 18 months, a blood test 30 days after the last one, and then wait for six months before entry to Hawaii.
How many people actually know about eight months in advance that they will be coming to Hawaii? Certainly not the military, whose pets account for 40 percent of those quarantined.
The volunteer Board of Agriculture also listened to a counter proposal endorsed by more than three dozen medical and scientific professionals, and voted it down on the advice of Foppoli.
More than 60 supporters of the modification to quarantine presented by the Community Quarantine Reform Coalition were present and the CQRC made a complete presentation of a modernized plan that would assure Hawaii's safety from rabies. The chairman then changed the agenda to hear Foppoli last, moved the vote on the CQRC proposal to follow Foppoli, and prevented any questions to Foppoli's presentation, which misrepresented the facts and risks.
Instead of choosing pro-gress, those currently in power tend to ignore outside advice as a hostile intrusion on their turf.
If Hawaii is to thrive in the modern world, we must choose leaders who will look to the future with an open mind and lead us on the path to progress. This next election will be our chance for change. Let's do something about it.
Chris Quackenbush is the founder of the Community Quarantine Reform Coalition.