Subcommittee to keep HB153, form study committee to plan statewide animal‑cruelty training and response

The House Environment and Agriculture subcommittee agreed Friday to retain HB153 and direct work toward creating a study committee to identify a sustainable statewide resource for animal‑cruelty investigations, including training and protocols for law enforcement.

The bill’s sponsor said HB153 was prompted by recurring gaps in how local agencies respond to cruelty complaints and proposed training at least one sheriff or deputy and one state trooper per county to serve as resources for local officers. “We’re finding that there’s a disconnect, and local law enforcement ... isn’t always up on everything,” said Chair (Representative, Environment and Agriculture Subcommittee), who opened the work session on HB153.

Why it matters: witnesses and law‑enforcement leaders told the panel that response and outcomes vary widely across the state — leaving some animals without timely care and officers unsure which statutes or procedures to apply. Panelists also noted cost and staffing constraints and recommended a coordinated set of resources, not a mandate that pulls officers off patrol without funding.

Longstanding and piecemeal training

Jerry Sazula, a retired University of New Hampshire professor and co‑chair of the governor’s commission on the humane treatment of animals, described long‑running training efforts. He said he began offering an online animal‑cruelty class in 2005, later created a two‑hour recruit module for the police academy and taught a more comprehensive 12‑hour in‑service course in some years. “Police officers were not trained in animal cruelty investigations,” Sazula said, describing the materials now hosted on the academy’s Benchmark learning platform.

John Skip, director of New Hampshire Police Standards and…