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Lisa Mylott urges faster seizures and stronger post‑seizure rules in H.578
Summary
At a Senate Judiciary hearing, Lisa Mylott, Director of Animal Welfare, urged changes in H.578 to speed seizure and forfeiture timelines, clarify notice and vet/agency consultation rules, and strengthen courts' ability to bar convicted animal abusers from possessing animals amid limited shelter capacity.
Lisa Mylott, director of animal welfare at the Vermont Department of Public Safety, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that H.578 aims to modernize animal‑cruelty law and speed the process that follows an animal seizure so victims can be rehomed sooner.
Mylott told the committee that Vermont lacks municipal shelters and that private rescues often cannot absorb animals seized in cruelty investigations. "Vermont does not have municipal shelters," she said, adding that many rescue groups now decline seizure cases because long holding periods impose unsustainable costs and stress on animals. She cited recent large seizures that exceeded statewide shelter capacity and said expediting post‑seizure decisions reduces animal suffering and the fiscal burden on private organizations.
The bill would tackle several areas Mylott outlined: clarifying substantive cruelty…
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