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H.626 (act 167) an act relating to animal welfare signed into Law!

Gov. Phil Scott signed bills related to animal welfare, diversity in courts and addiction recovery support on Monday. He allowed bills related to cannabis, education and a municipal code of ethics to pass into law without his signature. 

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The Republican governor signed H.626, a response to a number of animal cruelty cases across the state and the absence of a designated governmental entity to investigate and respond to them. 

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The law creates a new animal welfare division within the Department of Public Safety, and it designates a single employee to be the division’s director. That person is required to develop a plan “for the development, implementation, and enforcement of the animal welfare laws of the State.”

An animal is suffering.
Who can you call?
Who will respond?

In the six months or so since we started VFAW, the Vermont Game wardens have stepped into the law enforcement role in animal cruelty/neglect/abuse cases. There is still much to do. ACOs and game wardens need support, a way to find one another in order to share resources, tips, strategies, and other information. VFAW has pivoted to listen to these entities, find out what they need, and to help accomplish improvements to the system as it now stands. If you are an ACO, please contact us as we have created a private Facebook group for you to connect with one another, ask questions, share information and experience, and support one another. We will also be bringing the game wardens into the conversation at some point.  Spread the word! Thank you!

Right now, animals are suffering in Vermont from neglect or cruelty. 

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If you see an animal in distress, you will be told to call the Vermont State Police.

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If you call the Vermont State Police, you will be told to call someone else.

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If you call someone else, they will tell you to call someone else.

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Meanwhile, the animal you saw is getting worse or dying.

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And you feel helpless.

Take a stand against cruelty.

Lark's Story

Lark was meeting a family at their home in Charlotte where she was going to take care of their animals while they went on vacation. While there, she learned about the distressing situation next door. The recently sold property, a wetland, had become a "farm" with goats, ducks and chickens. Lark soon found out the animals were not getting fed, had dirty, rusty water if any, and were starting to die. Three baby goats died within a day. 

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What happened next is all too common in Vermont. Lark could not easily find anyone to investigate and help the animals. It took 20 days and at least 12 phone calls to get someone to show up. By that time, at least 7 goats had already died. 

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That was still just the beginning of the nightmare...

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Press

"The neighbors reported witnessing baby goats dying on a farm in the center of Charlotte last summer. The kids’ screams were heard next door, and neighbors said they could see carcasses from their property. 

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Yet while the animals’ plight was in full public view, neighbors said getting officials to respond in a timely manner proved a frustrating task that resulted in more goat deaths — and exposed a deficient state system for reporting concerns of animal neglect."

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Read more

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"...[She] called the town and a bunch of state agencies and never found a person to look into the situation. About a week later, Thompson went through the same process, but she continued to push and eventually got someone from the state Agency of Agriculture to visit the farm.

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Read more

Take a stand against cruelty.

Resources & Media

Our Goals

Take a stand against cruelty.

We are working to create a bill based to make sure that a well defined and implemented system for reporting and responding to animal welfare situations is created in Vermont.

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Provisions we want to see:

  • Central cruelty/neglect reporting system with trained personnel that is easy to find, well advertised by towns, Animal Control Officers, organizations, feed stores, veterinarians, and other animal health personnel

  • Rapid response, if deemed necessary, by dedicated humane personnel with access to critical information about previous offenders, ability to get a warrant, trained in animal handling and investigation of property with regard for animal welfare, and with full law enforcement powers.

  • Scheduled follow up, if warranted, with relevant frequency

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We are not trying to create a lot of bureaucracy and red tape. The statutes are already defined. All is needed is a small group to enforce the laws – a small team of personnel who care and know what they're doing.

 

Unless we take a stand against cruelty of all forms, cruelty will continue to exist.

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REPORT ANIMAL CRUELTY

What You Can Do

Please write your legislators and tell them that you care about animals and want a better system in this state to make sure responding to cruelty and neglect is a priority. Ask them sponsor a bill to establish a dedicated report/response system. The lack of a clear and coordinated reporting/response system is not good for this state or its citizens. Animal cruelty has been shown to be linked to abuse of children, women, and others. By not prioritizing well being for animals, the state is not prioritizing safety for its people. 

If you have had an experience with Vermont's system of reporting or responding to animal cruelty or neglect cases, please visit our Facebook page and let us know about it. Or you can email us. The more examples of the system failing, the more strength we have. 

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Take a stand against cruelty.
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