A pending bill in Hawaii would allow incarcerated inmates at a women’s correctional center to have shelter cats live in their cells with them and allow the inmates to prepare the cats for adoption.
Lawmakers believe this would help take some of the burden off cat shelters and would help rehabilitate the inmates. Inmates would be interviewed and approved by the Humane Society for participation. Violent offenders would not be considered.
The project, according to KOHN2 in Honolulu, would cost $50,000 a year. If it is successful, it may expand to dogs.
The bill says that prison pet programs started in the 1980s as a way to decrease relapses into criminal behavior. Indiana and California have implemented similar programs. The program also addresses staffing problems in shelters by having inmates care for animals and prepare the animals for adoption.
