On the big island of Hawaii, on the slopes of Mauna Kea the government is eradicating thousands of sheep. The sheep were brought from the European explorers in the late 1700’s because there were no grazing animals anywhere in the islands. It is terrible to eradicate the sheep for several reasons. The government’s eradication of the sheep is inhumane, it is wasteful and it is also harmful to the endangered palila bird.

First of all, the eradication program is inhumane. The government is using helicopters to kill thousands of sheep. Many animals are suffering from bad shots. The sheep that get wounded die a slow agonizing death. When my Dad was younger he would go up to Mauna Kea and the sheep would just be in herds of 100 plus. Nowadays you’ll be lucky to see just a few sheep throughout the whole mountain.

Many animals are suffering from bad shots. It is wasteful to just shoot the sheep and leave them there to rot. There are many families that would be able to use the meat. According to local hunters and the local ohana on the big island, they would like to hunt the sheep themselves. When times get rough there is a place to get meat to eat. I think the pandemic has a strong relation to this event because many people aren’t working and could use the sheep for a source of meat rather than spending extra money on food. 

Lastly, a little known fact is, these sheep help one of Hawaii’s endangered birds. These palila birds are endemic to Hawaii. The birds use the sheeps’ wool to create their nest to keep their eggs warm. The wool from the sheep is much better for nests than grass and twigs. The wool helps when the bird is born by keeping them warm because they are in high elevation. The sheep also help the birds by eating most of the grass which helps the birds find insects easier. I think it’s important to save the sheep to help this endemic bird that only lives in Hawaii.

The government believes the sheep are responsible for destroying the nests and breaking the eggs of the palila bird. However, the mongoose are the ones that steal the eggs and could eat the whole bird. In conclusion, this is why it is terrible to eradicate the sheep. The government’s eradication of the sheep is inhumane, it is wasteful and it is also harmful to the endangered palila bird. I wanted to write about this because I think it is important for people to know about this problem.