Committee advances bill to allow retail sale of bison, red deer and elk meat; vote places bill on consent

The House Environment and Agriculture Committee voted to pass SB 229, a bill that allows sale of meat from bison, red deer and elk into retail and restaurant channels and eliminates a sunset that would have restored more stringent on‑site veterinary inspection requirements.

Representative Kantroy moved to pass the bill; Representative Bixby seconded. Supporters described the bill as widening market access for New Hampshire producers and improving food security by creating more retail options for locally produced meat. Representative Bixby, who worked on earlier versions of related bills, said the measure removes a regulatory requirement that had required a veterinarian to conduct pre‑ and post‑mortem inspections at slaughter — a rule that had been difficult to meet because of a shortage of veterinarians in the state. The committee noted the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture has adopted rule provisions including tissue sampling (for example, sampling every fifth animal) to address disease surveillance.

Members said elk and red deer in New Hampshire are maintained as closed herds — a practice the bill’s supporters said lowers the risk of introducing chronic wasting disease. Representative Sofakitis said humane on‑farm killing reduces animal stress and improves meat quality compared with transporting animals to a remote slaughter facility.

Clerk roll call returned a unanimous result in the recorded sequence and the chair said the motion passes; members asked that the bill be placed on consent.

Ending Committee supporters said the department has rules and sampling protocols they trust to manage disease risk while expanding market access. The committee recorded passage and placed SB 229 on the consent calendar.