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Panel hears technical concerns as it considers expanding sale of rabbit meat to farm stands and interstate commerce
Summary
Lawmakers heard testimony on HB 779 to expand where rabbit meat may be sold. Agriculture and public‑health officials urged drafting changes and recommended requiring training and registration already in statute for restaurant sales.
Representative Peter Bixby introduced HB 779 to broaden sale of rabbit meat from on‑farm or to restaurants to additional retail channels and interstate commerce. The bill would extend existing allowances that permit certain rabbit producers to sell to restaurants after a training course.
Sean Jasper, Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food, and Michelle Roberge and Erica Davis from the Department of Health and Human Services both told the committee the drafting needs technical fixes before the bill should advance. Jasper said the bill as written creates inconsistent definitions by referencing rabbit sale rules in two different sections (the existing definitions are at RSA 143‑A:14 and the proposed new subdivision would create a second, slightly different definition at 143‑A:20‑a). He also warned that borrowing requirements from an unrelated statute (he cited a provision that controls slaughter timing for large cervids and bison) could unintentionally impose inappropriate seasonal limits if applied to rabbits.
HHS food protection staff told the committee the current statute requires an educational course and registration for rabbit producers who sell to restaurants; the proposed new subdivision does not carry those training and registration requirements into the new retail allowances. HHS recommended adding the existing training and registration language to any expansion of consumer‑level sales and noted that the department enforces the federal food code and licensing rules that apply to retail and food‑preparation facilities.
Stakeholders told the committee there are already producers registered with Cooperative Extension; Commissioner Jasper said about 45 rabbit producers are currently registered for safe‑handling coursework. Several committee members asked that the bill explicitly require the training and registration that apply to restaurant sales if retail or market sales are to be allowed.
Representative Bixby agreed to work with stakeholders and amend the bill; the committee closed the hearing. The online record showed 47 people in support and two opposed. Committee staff and proponents said they would draft an amendment to add education and registration requirements and to align definitions with existing RSA sections before the next committee action.
