In their zeal to help animals, their numerous pets at home and even their ages (both are in their early 60s), Vasconcellos and
island animal activist Dellia Holodenschi are allies.
During Burns» first years as chief executive the Hawaiian Humane Society came under vehement
activist criticism for allegedly sidestepping conflict with legal
animal use industries, cockfighters with connections in high places, and especially ---- and perhaps most controversially ---- with the longtime Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources policy of trying to purge the
islands of feral cats, mongooses, and other non-native wildlife.
According to «
Animal Activist Finds Himself in Rat's Nest of Legal Trouble» (Dec. 15), the black rats, Rattus rattus, that Rob Puddicombe tried to rescue on Anacapa
Island are known primarily as urban nuisances.