Hawaii County, HI Animal Ordinances: Coyote Management (2026)

Axis deer aren't native to Hawai'i and have no natural predators here; once established on a Neighbor Island they compete with cattle for pasture and strip native forest understory, which is why HCC Article 17 (enacted by Ordinance 11-116 in 2011) treats them as a prohibited invasive species rather than wildlife to be managed by hunting seasons. Section 14-106 makes it a violation to transport live axis deer into the County at all, closing off the main route by which the animals reach the Big Island from Maui or Moloka'i.

Section 14-107 separately bans moving live axis deer within the County once they're here, preventing anyone from relocating or restocking them on new land. Section 14-108 goes further and bans harboring: giving shelter or refuge to axis deer on private property is unlawful regardless of whether the animals were transported there or wandered in, which forecloses using them as ranched game or livestock. Section 14-109 carves out exactly one exemption, the Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo in Hilo, which may lawfully keep axis deer that any other private landowner would be barred from harboring.

The article carries real teeth: each of the three prohibited acts, importing, moving within the county, and harboring, is treated as its own separate violation under the ordinance.