Title XLV, Animals

I. Except as provided in paragraphs II and III and RSA 466:11 and RSA 466:14, no dog registration records, information, or lists shall be sold, rented, transferred, or otherwise made available in whole or in part, in any form or format, directly or indirectly, to another person. …

I. Clerks of towns and cities shall keep a record of all licenses issued by them, with the names of the keepers or owners of dogs licensed, and the names, registered numbers and descriptions of all such dogs. Clerks of towns and cities shall furnish yearly to the local governing …

Each city and town treasurer shall keep an accurate and separate account of all moneys received and expended by such treasurer under the provisions of this chapter relating to dogs and cats.

Whoever is the owner or keeper of a dog and who fails to license or renew the dog license pursuant to RSA 466:1 shall forfeit $25 to the town or city clerk of the municipality in which the dog is kept. If the forfeiture is not made to the town or city clerk within 15 calendar day…

The governing body of a municipality may vote to license cats in a similar manner as it licenses dogs. If a municipality elects to license cats, the same penalties shall apply for unlicensed cats as for unlicensed dogs, and the provisions of RSA 466:8 of the preceding subdivision…

The town or city clerk shall annually, between June 1 and June 20, present to the local governing body a list of those owners of dogs that have failed to license or not renewed their dog licenses pursuant to RSA 466:1. The local governing body shall, within 20 days from June 20, …

Such officers, other than those employed under regular pay, shall receive such compensation for services performed under RSA 466:14 as may be determined by the mayor of the city or the selectmen of the town in which such dogs are seized and held.

Each local law enforcement officer to whom the warrant named in RSA 466:14 is issued shall return the warrant, on or before August 31, to the local governing body issuing it and, shall state in the return the number of owners who received and paid the civil forfeiture, the number…

Whenever an incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shall keep and maintain for 7 consecutive days an unlicensed dog whose owner is unknown, full title to the unlicensed dog shall pass to the society at the end of the 7-day period, unless the owner of the do…

Any person to whom or to whose property, including sheep, lambs, fowl, or other domestic creatures, damage may be occasioned by a dog not owned or kept by such person shall be entitled to recover damages from the person who owns, keeps, or possesses the dog, unless the damage was…

An owner of a dog may at any time have it licensed until the ensuing May 1; and a person becoming the owner or keeper of a dog not duly licensed after May 1 shall cause it to be registered, numbered, described and licensed as provided in RSA 466:1.

Any person may kill a dog that suddenly assaults the person while such person is peaceably walking or riding without the enclosure of its owner or keeper; and any person may kill a dog that is found out of the enclosure or immediate care of its owner or keeper worrying, wounding,…

I. In the case of a rabies epidemic, the mayor and aldermen of a city or the selectmen of a town may order that all dogs within the limits of the city or town shall be muzzled or restrained from running at large during the time prescribed by such order. After passing the order, t…

A license duly recorded shall be valid in any part of the state, and may be transferred with the dog licensed. The clerk of the town or city may charge $1.50 to cover the cost of the tag for the new license.

The mayor and aldermen or selectmen may cause special service of any order issued under RSA 466:29 to be made upon any person, requiring that a dog owned or kept by the person shall be muzzled or restrained from running at large, by causing a certified copy of the order to be del…

[Paragraph I effective until January 1, 2027; see also paragraph I set out below.] I. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any dog to run at large, except when accompanied by the owner or custodian, and when used for hunting, for guarding…

I. (a) Any city or town desiring to adopt the provisions of RSA 466:30-a may do so by approving as described in paragraph II or III the following question: "Shall we adopt the provisions of RSA 466:30-a which make it unlawful for any dog to run at large, except when accompanied b…

I. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a dog may run at large while it is actively engaged in the protection, herding or management of livestock, provided that such dog: (a) Is actively used for guarding livestock and works primarily with the livestock herd or flock in a …

I. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a dog may run at large while it is actively engaged in the protection of farm crops, provided that such dog is: (a) Is actively used for guarding crops in a pasture, range, field, active yard, or similar open agricultural environment…

I. [Repealed.] II. Under this section, a dog is considered to be a nuisance, a menace, or vicious to persons or to property under any or all but not limited to the following conditions: (a) If a dog is "at large," which means it is off the premises of the owner or keeper and not …

I. Any person who violates any provision of RSA 466:31 shall be guilty of a violation; provided that if such person chooses to pay the civil forfeiture specified in paragraph II, the person shall be deemed to have waived the right to have the case heard in district or municipal c…

Police officers or constables shall be compensated for service under RSA 466:31 as provided in RSA 466:15.

It shall be unlawful for the owner or custodian of any dog to permit such dog to run at large in territory inhabited by game birds or quadrupeds, or on lands where livestock is pastured, at any time of the year; provided that hares and rabbits may be hunted with dogs during the o…

Any owner of a dog to whom notice has been given that such dog, when at large, has been discovered pursuing or harassing moose, caribou, deer or sheep, or injuring any domestic creature, shall be guilty of a violation for each subsequent occasion on which said dog shall be so dis…

If any dog, at any time, shall maim, injure or destroy any wild animal protected by law, the owner thereof shall be fined the same amount which the statutes impose upon persons for killing the same animal contrary to law.

Any conservation officer, state police officer, dog constable, or any New Hampshire certified police officer may kill any dog found in the act of maiming or in close pursuit of deer, moose, caribou, sheep, cattle, swine, poultry, or any domestic animal. No civil action for recove…

Any city or town officer who refuses or willfully neglects to perform the duties imposed upon such officer by this chapter relating to dogs shall be guilty of a violation, the fine to be paid to the city or town.

All fines and penalties provided in this chapter relating to dogs may be recovered on complaint before a district court or municipal court in the town or county where the offense is committed.

The local governing body may make such additional bylaws and regulations concerning the licensing, muzzling of vicious dogs as defined in RSA 466:31, II(g), and restraining of dogs as it deems reasonable, and may affix penalties not exceeding $50 for a breach thereof. Such bylaws…

I. (a) The fee for every license for a year or portion of a year shall be: (1) $4.75 for dogs at least 4 months old but less than 7 months old which are not spayed or neutered and $4.75 for a neutered male or spayed female dog 7 months old or older; provided, however, that the ow…

Any person who shall crop or cut or cause to be cropped or cut off the whole or any part of the ear of a dog, unless such person is a veterinarian duly registered under the provisions of RSA 332-B and unless such operation is performed while the dog is under an anesthetic, shall …

The possession of a dog with an ear cropped or cut off and with a resulting wound unhealed, confined upon the premises of or in charge or custody of any person, shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of the provisions of RSA 466:40 by the person in control of such premises …

I. Whoever steals a dog shall be guilty of a misdemeanor for the first and second offense, and a class B felony for each subsequent offense. II. Whoever distributes or exposes a poisonous substance with intent that the same shall be eaten by any dog shall be liable to the dog's o…

Whoever wrongfully kills or maims, entices or carries away a licensed dog shall be liable to its owner for its value in a civil proceeding.

I. Except as provided in paragraph II, no person shall bring any animal into any restaurant or any store that sells food; and no person shall allow any animal to enter in any store that sells food, except for service animals as provided in RSA 167-D. Whoever violates the provisio…

Every city and town shall inform every restaurant and every store that sells food in such city or town of the provisions of RSA 466:44.

In this subdivision: I. "Commercial establishment" means any business operated by a person, firm, partnership, corporation or other legal entity which sells, rents, leases or otherwise transacts a retail or wholesale business with the general public. II. "Custodian of guard dog" …

A guard dog shall be licensed pursuant to RSA 466:4.

In addition to the dog license required by RSA 466:4, no guard dog shall be used in any city or town without prior approval of the local law enforcement authority and appropriate registration with that authority.

The annual registration fee for a guard dog shall be $10, paid to the local law enforcement authority for deposit in the general fund of the city or town. Each registration shall expire one year from the date of issue.

All moneys arising from the licensing of dogs and cats, if the municipality licenses cats, remaining in the treasury of any town or city at the end of the town or city fiscal year, which is not due to holders of orders given for loss of or damages to domestic animals by dogs, or …

Prior to approval of the registration of any guard dog, the custodian shall provide to the local law enforcement authority satisfactory proof of the following: I. That the premises to be guarded by the guard dog has sufficient restraining devices, such as fences or walls, to prev…

The local law enforcement authority shall inspect the premises of each custodian of a registered guard dog during normal business hours. If conditions on said premises do not meet the requirements of RSA 466:50, the local law enforcement authority shall direct removal of the dog …

If the custodian of a registered guard dog has had the dog's registration voided pursuant to RSA 466:51, the custodian may request in writing a hearing before the city council or board of selectmen, as appropriate, and said hearing shall be conducted within 30 days of receipt of …

I. The local law enforcement authority shall notify the local fire department and other agencies which may need emergency access to the guarded premises, as may be appropriate, that a guard dog has been duly registered and is authorized to be in a specifically designated commerci…

Any person, firm, partnership or corporation who violates any provision of this subdivision shall be guilty of a violation for the first offense and guilty of a misdemeanor for subsequent offenses.