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Department of Public Safety outlines new animal‑welfare division and hiring timeline
Summary
Commissioner Jennifer Morrison said DPS created a Division of Animal Welfare and has extended a conditional offer for a director; the division will assess statewide complaint intake, investigation responsibilities, and funding for animal care in complex cases.
The Vermont Department of Public Safety told the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 25 that it has stood up a new Division of Animal Welfare and has extended a conditional offer to a director, with onboarding to follow human resources steps.
"We have extended a conditional offer of employment to a woman who is a professor of law from out of state, who intends to come here and and begin that work," Commissioner Jennifer Morrison told the committee. She said the department expects to complete the HR process and have someone in place within about four to eight weeks.
Morrison described the division's first task as assessing the statewide landscape for investigating animal‑welfare complaints and developing a plan to create a coordinated system. "Within the first 8 months of the director being hired [the director must] come up with a plan for creating a better, more comprehensive statewide system for investigating animal welfare complaints," Morrison said.
Committee members asked whether Fish and Wildlife or the department would continue current animal‑welfare work. Morrison explained that wardens assumed those investigations from the Vermont State Police roughly two years ago as part of the governor's broader enforcement changes; the new division will not immediately absorb all functions but will produce a plan and identify responsibilities, funding needs for veterinary care, and how rescues and shelters will be used in complex cases.
The department said some municipalities and nonprofit groups currently handle animal control or welfare work and that the new division must coordinate across those existing structures. Committee members asked follow‑up questions about the funding source for the division's special fund, which Morrison said is to be formed from a surcharge on dog‑license revenue and appropriations by the Legislature; she said the special fund exists in the state financial system though receipts may not have begun yet.
No formal action was taken; the committee requested follow‑up on the director's start date, the division's implementation plan, and the special fund balance.
