State's attorney urges faster seizures, registry and steady funding as committee reviews H 578

State's Attorney Alyanna Gerhard of Memorial County told the Judiciary committee on Jan. 14 that delays in surrendering abused animals and a shortage of shelter and veterinary capacity are worsening cruelty cases and that legislation under consideration (H 578) could address those gaps.

Gerhard recounted Trooper, a dog found emaciated and rated 1 on a 1–9 body-condition scale who required more than $10,000 in emergency veterinary care. "We can't, veterinarians can't keep donating their care. Animal shelters can't keep donating food and services to these animals," Gerhard said. She added that Trooper's owner pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty and received a six‑month to five‑year jail sentence and conditions barring pet possession.

The testimony foregrounded three proposals Gerhard urged lawmakers to adopt. First, she proposed allowing officers executing a search or seizure to serve owners on the spot with a surrender notice and set a short contest deadline — she suggested 10 days — so animals can be moved to care more quickly instead of waiting months within intertwined criminal and forfeiture proceedings. "If it's linked into the criminal process, it can take a year or two," she said.

Second, Gerhard called for a statewide animal‑abuse registry so veterinarians, social‑service workers and courts could identify repeat abusers when considering service‑animal requests or placements. "If we had had that registry, that doctor would have known that this person is not a safe person to have an animal," she said, describing a case in which medical staff unknowingly approved an abusive owner for a service animal.

Third, she urged a sustainable funding stream to pay for triage centers, sheltering and veterinary care. As one idea, she recommended creating a conservation license plate or similar dedicated fund to avoid relying on ad‑hoc GoFundMe drives when high‑cost rescues occur.

Committee members pressed Gerhard on legal and procedural details. Several asked whether forfeiture proceedings should be moved entirely into civil court; Gerhard said her priority is "untangling" civil forfeiture from criminal prosecutions and giving forfeiture cases short deadlines so they don't stall while criminal cases proceed. Members also questioned whether changing statutory language from "may" to "shall" for sentencing or penalties would remove necessary prosecutorial flexibility; Gerhard said stronger mandatory penalties would provide "more teeth" but acknowledged the move could complicate plea negotiations.

Gerhard described the operational strain of large rescues, recounting a farm seizure that required multiple trailers, volunteers, law enforcement and veterinarians and noted that volunteers and vets have repeatedly donated services but cannot sustain such operations without dedicated support. She also said she filed 27 felony counts after one case where 27 animals died following abandonment, adding that judges commonly run counts concurrently but that charging each animal reflects the harm each suffered.

No formal votes were recorded during the testimony. The committee thanked Gerhard and adjourned. Members signaled interest in drafting options that address expedited service, registry scope, funding mechanisms and the balance between mandatory penalties and prosecutorial discretion; next steps and any bill language changes were not decided during the session.

Gerhard spoke in her capacity as a county state's attorney and noted she was offering her personal practice perspective rather than speaking for other prosecutors.