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Senate hearing examines SB475 to restore foster care for pregnant, nursing animals; sponsors, shelters seek clearer language
Summary
Senate Bill 475 would define foster homes and allow animals to be placed in foster care when a New Hampshire‑licensed veterinarian deems it in the animal’s best interest. Proponents — shelters, veterinarians and the Department of Agriculture — say it protects vulnerable animals; some stakeholders warned the drafted amendment could conflict with existing rules and called for clearer definitions and liability protections.
Sen. Regina Bartzel, the bill sponsor, told the Environmental and Natural Resources committee that Senate Bill 475 would define foster homes and explicitly allow animals to go into foster care when “a New Hampshire licensed veterinarian deems it in the best interest of an animal’s health, safety, and well‑being.” Bartzel said the change would align state rules with veterinary best practices and ease pressure on crowded shelters.
“The Department of Agriculture was enforcing what they saw as the law,” Sean Jasper, commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food, told the committee in support of the bill. Jasper said his agency’s review of its database and enforcement practices revealed that rule language had been…
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