I am a man of my word. I said it under oath in testimony before the House and Senate, and I will say it again here: if Gov. Kelly Ayotte signs House Bill 1766, New Hampshire Humane Society will be forced to begin the process of heavily modifying or ending our municipal contracts across the state. These decisions are being made without our input and in direct opposition to our mission to save lives and hold people accountable for the abuse and neglect of animals. We are not alone. Multiple shelter partners across New Hampshire are prepared to do the same.
This is not retaliation. This is accountability.
New Hampshire has a proud identity. Live Free or Die is not a slogan. It is a covenant. It is a promise that government will not burden its citizens and its institutions with excessive interference, bureaucratic overreach or legislation that solves no real problem while creating enormous ones. The Granite State has always understood that a government that cannot restrain itself is a government that has lost its way. And yet here we are, watching a legislature that has abandoned that principle in favor of advancing its own agenda at the expense of the people and the organizations it was elected to serve.
House Bill 1766 would fundamentally alter the regulatory framework governing animal shelters in New Hampshire, imposing new mandates and restrictions that reflect neither the operational realities of shelter work nor any meaningful understanding of what our organizations actually do. It has passed the Senate and is now on the Governor’s desk. But it does not stand alone. There are numerous other pieces of legislation currently pending that target the animal welfare sector, each one creating significant concern on its own. As a collective, these various pieces of legislation make it impossible for shelter organizations and rescue groups to function. Whether this is intentional, misguided or blatant ignorance, the impact is the same. We will not stand for it, and we will not comply.
The animal fostering bill, for example, now mandates reporting requirements on every single foster placement move. These are not reforms. They are administrative anchors dropped onto organizations already operating on fractional budgets, by lawmakers who have not done the work to understand what they are regulating. This is overreach driven by personal agenda, and it is costing animals their lives.
And here is what too many of those lawmakers appear not to understand: We are not downstream.
Our police departments are downstream. Our municipal partners are downstream. Town administrators and local budgets are downstream. Animal shelters are the safety net that keeps all of those systems from being overwhelmed. We manage stray animals, court holds, bite holds and rabies quarantines. We provide services that municipalities are legally obligated to deliver but cannot afford to perform themselves. The town budgets that nominally support us cover a fraction of our actual costs. We fundraise to close the gap, and in doing so, we subsidize the state. That is not a metaphor. That is the financial reality.
Commissioner Shawn Jasper of the Department of Agriculture has publicly insinuated that our organizations are little more than a moneymaking opportunity. He has stated in public testimony that the animal welfare sector is the bane of his existence. That statement alone tells you everything you need to know about the level of leadership and collegiality he brings to a role that exists specifically to provide support and guidance to the very sector he disparages. We are not profiting. We are subsidizing. And we deserve a Commissioner who understands the difference.
Representative Barbara Comtois, the driving force behind HB 1766, introduced the bill by claiming that New Hampshire Humane Society supported it. We do not. We never did. She has continued to make broad claims in testimony that she has the full support of law enforcement and the New Hampshire Federation of Humane Organizations. The facts do not reflect her claims.
Following her testimony, the Federation sent a letter directly to the relevant committee refuting her assertion of their support and making clear that they had provided input on this legislation that was largely ignored. Our law enforcement and municipal partners have made clear to us directly that her characterizations do not represent their position. The animal welfare sector stands in opposition. She has been challenged on these statements repeatedly. She has continued to make them anyway.
We have been at the table. I have personally testified before the House and Senate. I have dedicated countless hours to responding to legislation that should never have been written. We have gathered hundreds of petition signatures, including from law enforcement officers who understand exactly what our partnerships mean to public safety. We have letters of support from police chiefs across the state who rely on us, trust us and do not want to lose us.
We are proud of those partnerships. And we are being forced to reconsider them not by choice, but because legislators acting without our input and in direct opposition to our lifesaving mission have left us no alternative.
Ayotte, you ran on the promise of a government that works for the people of New Hampshire, not one that burdens them. We are asking you to honor that promise. Veto HB 1766. And go further: mandate a comprehensive animal welfare plan for the state of New Hampshire. End the era of piecemeal legislation driven by legislators who have not done their homework. Create a standalone Department of Animal Welfare, independent of the Department of Agriculture, a model already in place in Vermont, Maine and states across the country, so that animal welfare in New Hampshire is led by people who understand it and respect it.
The Granite State deserves better than this. So do its animals. Throughout my testimony and throughout my career, I have made clear that I would demand better for the animals and the people of the Granite State. And I am a man of my word.
Charles Stanton is the executive director of the New Hampshire Humane Society.