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Witnesses urge House Judiciary to advance HB 578 to make owners pay seized animals' care and toughen cruelty laws
Summary
At a House Judiciary hearing, rescue groups, former law enforcement and animal-welfare nonprofits backed House Bill 578, which would authorize bond-and-forfeiture cost-recovery for seized animals, tighten aggravated-cruelty provisions when minors are involved, and add rehabilitative and procedural safeguards. Witnesses cited long case timelines, high shelter costs and persistent gaps in placement and prosecution.
Supporters of a Vermont bill to strengthen animal-cruelty enforcement told the House Judiciary Committee that the state needs clearer authority to recover care costs for animals seized in cruelty cases, quicker court timelines, and tougher penalties when children are involved.
Heather Bent, who identified herself as a founder of Potter's Angels Rescue and a representative of Vermonters Against Cruelty and Abandonment (VACA), told the committee HB 578 is "urgently needed" because seized animals frequently sit in custody while cases move through the courts. "Animal cruelty cases typically take 6 to 18 months to resolve," Bent said, and that delay can cause behavioral decline and added expense for rescues and municipalities.
Bent and other witnesses laid out the bill's practical aims: permit agencies caring for seized animals to request a judge require defendants to post a bond to cover care costs; allow forfeiture of animals if a defendant fails to pay;…
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