State Breeder Laws Every Resident Fancier Should Know!

CFA State Breeder Law Series, Part 8 - U.S. States of Region 1: New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont

- Kelly Crouch

In this Part 8, last in the series of articles reviewing state laws covering cat breeding, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont complete the discussion of the Region 1 states included in Parts 3 and 7. Each state has different approaches and must be evaluated separately. After publication of each article, it is later uploaded for reference on the CFA Legislative Group Blog Resources page.

Readers can use these articles to begin their analysis of the law and determine how it applies to them. This article is not a substitute for a legal review.

New Hampshire

Following a high-profile dog seizure case in 2017, activists and legislators sought ways to amend the existing pet vendor definition and licensing provisions while eliminating the commercial kennel license administered by the State of New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food Division of Animal Industry.

In 2019, competing bills were introduced but not passed, but the favored provisions were later added to the State Budget bill, H.B. 2. This bill was enacted, changing the quantitative threshold part of the definition to include anyone "who transfers 25 or more dogs, 25 or more cats, 30 or more ferrets, or 50 or more birds customarily used as household pets." It also deleted the commercial kennel definition. However, these lower numbers along with loss of the commercial kennel licensed proved too restrictive leading to bills to raise numbers and provide more paths to licensing at modest numbers. The successful 2021 bill was H.B. 250. Effective August 17th, 2021, a pet vendor is defined as: