Hearing on HB 616 draws farmers, rescuers and agencies to debate when and how animals can be seized

The House Environment & Agriculture Committee conducted a lengthy hearing on HB 616, a bill that would revise procedures for confiscation and temporary protective custody of animals suspected of abuse or neglect.

Sponsor Representative Judy Aaron said the bill arose after an April incident in Lee in which she said animals were seized and later euthanized while the property owner was not charged. Aaron proposed statutory language amending RSA 644:8 to require clearer processes: written notice to charged persons about their right to petition the court for an independent veterinary examination, restrictions on altering confiscated animals before conviction (including spaying/neutering or euthanasia), limits on who may take custody (law enforcement or animal-control officers), and protections when lactating animals are seized so mothers and offspring are not separated without demonstrated capacity to care for them.

Commissioner Sean Jasper, Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food, testified in general support of due-process protections but described drafting and operational concerns. He said the state veterinarian’s office is small and warned against language that would create an unworkable requirement that the state veterinarian…