{"id":11795,"date":"2024-02-28T14:03:21","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T14:03:21","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"Animal-abuse-registry-pitched-in-NH-as-\u2018needed-tool\u2019-critics-fear-unintended-impacts-54210946\/","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/?p=11795","title":{"rendered":"Animal abuse registry pitched in NH as \u2018needed tool\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"House
House Bill 1505 would establish an animal abuse offender registry within the New Hampshire Department of Safety.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Bjarna
Bjarna O\u2019Brien, animal control officer for the Salem Police Department, testifies in support of a statewide animal abuse offender registry.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>

Bjarna O\u2019Brien has come close to only one conviction during her time working as an animal control officer for the Salem Police Department.<\/p>\n

She criminally pursued a man for leaving his dogs inside a hot environment on multiple occasions in town. O\u2019Brien would later learn he\u2019d done the same in several other towns, cross-jurisdictional information that wasn\u2019t readily available during her investigation.<\/p>\n

When a judge deferred the man\u2019s conviction so he could instead receive more animal education, he brought his dogs to court that day and left them in the car.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese kinds of things continue to build and continue to happen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien believes New Hampshire should establish an animal abuse offender registry, a tool to equip law enforcement with the knowledge and collaboration needed to bolster the chance of successful convictions and justice for animals.<\/p>\n

Few places in the U.S. have gone down this path. Tennessee launched the first and only statewide registry in 2017, and a handful of cities and counties have created their own.<\/p>\n

Last week, O\u2019Brien testified passionately in support of House Bill 1505, which is sponsored by her mother, Rep. Katherine Prudhomme-O\u2019Brien, a Republican from Derry. She described a dearth of information for animal control officers outside of their own jurisdictions, and a system where animal cruelty convictions are few and far between \u2013 and not because abuse isn\u2019t happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is strongly disheartening,\u201d she said. \u201cFew cruelty cases make it to court and even fewer result in convictions. Moreover, convicted offenders often face minimal consequences and can easily obtain new animals or continue operating in animal-related businesses due to the absence of a centralized public registry.\u201d<\/p>\n

As proposed, Prudhomme-O\u2019Brien\u2019s bill would establish an animal abuse offender registry within the Department of Safety, one that would be posted publicly on its website starting Jan. 1, 2026. The registry would include a person\u2019s full legal name, a booking photo, and other identifying data determined necessary by the department.<\/p>\n

A person would be removed from the registry two years after the date of their conviction, provided they haven\u2019t been convicted of more animal abuse during that period. If they offend again, their name would remain on the registry for five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cJeff Dahmer started with \u2018just\u2019 animals,\u201d Prudhomme-O\u2019Brien told lawmakers while introducing her bill on Feb. 20, alluding to the established link between violence against animals being a potential precursor for violence against humans.<\/p>\n

For everyone at the hearing who supported the bill was someone who didn\u2019t. Nancy Holmes, a New Boston resident who has been involved in dog rescue, breeding, and training, feared a public registry would be weaponized, subjecting the people on it to \u201cscrutiny, ridicule, and censure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, the bill really seems to promote cyber bullying rather than the reduction of incidents of animal abuse,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

New Hampshire State Police Lt. Mary Bonilla said her agency is \u201cvery neutral on this matter,\u201d though she raised issues of cost and additional staffing to create and man the database.<\/p>\n

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has a national position on animal abuse registries: They do little to protect animals or people, and can have unintended consequences. Instead, the ASPCA believes existing strategies \u2013 such as well-enforced no-contact orders, mandated psychological assessments, and inclusion of pets in orders of protection \u2013 are more effective.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers appear poised to vote \u201cinexpedient to legislate\u201d on HB 1505 when it comes back in front of the House Environment and Agriculture Committee on March 5. But many agreed the challenges faced by animal control officers do need to be addressed by the Legislature.<\/p>\n

NH animal cruelty laws: \u2018A lot of loopholes\u2019<\/h2>\n

Opening up a public hearing on her bill last week, Prudhomme-O\u2019Brien likened her proposal to sex offender registries, a central repository to alert people in a community about individuals convicted of certain crimes. She acknowledged that animal abuse registries face a lot of resistance, and many feel they are \u201ctoo punitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tool, and I think it\u2019s a needed tool,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Prudhomme-O\u2019Brien faced questioning from skeptical lawmakers about individuals with mental health issues, concerns about \u201csurveillance,\u201d and the possibility that people may take on vigilante roles against those on the list. Lawmakers also took issue with the bill not differentiating between misdemeanor and felony offenses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still unsure about why you believe we need a registry at all,\u201d said Rep. Judy Aron, a South Acworth Republican and chair of the House Environment and Agriculture Committee. \u201cIs this so people won\u2019t employ them? So that people will stay away from them? I just don\u2019t understand what this list would be for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prudhomme-O\u2019Brien answered: \u201cWould this keep them from being employed? Maybe in the animal care business, yes. I hope you can agree that is not a problem. That\u2019s good judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Current animal cruelty statutes in New Hampshire fall under the state\u2019s Department of Agriculture. Someone convicted of a felony offense will be prohibited by a court from having ownership or custody of other animals for a minimum of five years. Arresting officers \u201cmay\u201d also confiscate animals when a person is charged.<\/p>\n

But Salem Animal Control Officer O\u2019Brien described the state\u2019s animal cruelty laws as \u201ca sieve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of loopholes, and if you\u2019re using it as a bucket to hold water, it\u2019s useless,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien said judges have a lot of discretion in animal cruelty cases, and many don\u2019t have any expertise in them. When animal control officers do make it to court with a case, she said, charges are often deferred for a number of years as long as the individual does not engage in additional offenses.<\/p>\n

But her biggest concern perhaps is the absence of centralized information for animal control officers across the state. Much of the time, the only insight animal control officers have is what\u2019s in their department\u2019s \u201clocal\u201d \u2013 a small, computerized system providing information about people who live in the town, or out-of-towners who got a speeding ticket there, for example.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien argued that if someone committed animal cruelty a few towns over, she likely wouldn\u2019t know about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cA centralized registry of animal abuse streamlines the process for law enforcement agencies to gain details on individuals with a history of animal cruelty by convictions,\u201d O\u2019Brien said.<\/p>\n

Last legislative session, Center Barnstead Republican Rep. Barbara Comtois sponsored a bill that would have created a deputy animal control officer position in each county sheriff\u2019s department, with the intent this person would serve as a clearinghouse for the county. But that effort was defeated when animal control officers and police came out against it, she said, feeling as though they would get overstepped.<\/p>\n

Rehabilitation versus \u2018public shaming\u2019<\/h2>\n

Others feel an animal abuse registry in New Hampshire could be a slippery slope, especially in a society where information is widely available on the internet \u2013 and what people do with it can be unpredictable.<\/p>\n

Joyce Arivella, a New Boston resident, said the bill was \u201cpitting neighbor against neighbor.\u201d While there are \u201cevil people\u201d who do abuse animals, she said, the registry does not distinguish them from \u201csomebody\u2019s mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holmes, the former dog breeder and trainer from New Boston, said people\u2019s stories are nuanced and a name inclusion on a list doesn\u2019t give the full picture. She mentioned anecdotally an elderly woman living in a hoarding situation, or livestock owners who have run out of money and don\u2019t know what to do with their animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI absolutely believe that putting people on a registry like this and having it open to everybody to view is putting a target on those people\u2019s backs,\u201d Holmes said. \u201cAnd I, for one, would find it really hard to find (out) that somebody\u2019s house has been burned down or their kids attacked or whatever, because they had this conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holmes urged lawmakers to invest in rehabilitation versus \u201cpublic shaming.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a committee work session on Feb. 21, House members were united in that they wouldn\u2019t move the bill forward with a positive recommendation. But they discussed other ways the Legislature could in future years address the issues raised, including looping in the House Criminal Justice and Judiciary committees.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think a good point was brought up that there needs to be some better communication within law enforcement about who\u2019s been arrested for what or who\u2019s been indicted for what or who\u2019s been charged or convicted,\u201d said Aron.<\/p>\n

Back to the newhampshirebulletin.com<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bjarna O\u2019Brien has come close to only one conviction during her time working as an animal control officer for the Salem Police Department.She criminally pursued a man for leaving his dogs inside a hot environment on multiple occasions in town. O\u2019Brien…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":220,"featured_media":11796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_newspack_byline_active":true,"_newspack_byline":"by [Author id=220]Hadley Barndollar[\/Author] New Hampshire Bulletin","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,508],"tags":[24,505],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[511],"class_list":["post-11795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-top-headlines-cm","tag-facebook","tag-paywall","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/43033087-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/220"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11795"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11797,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11795\/revisions\/11797"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11795"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fnewspack_spnsrs_tax&post=11795"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=11795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}