UPDATE: April 11, 2024, Voices of Wildlife in NH is planning a protest in Concord, NH, on April 20. Please email us for more information. info@voicesofwildlifeinnh.org The wild animals of NH and we need you there.

UPDATE: February 16, 2024 – The following bills to protect animals failed to pass. We will have elections this year, and it is important to vote animal-friendly people in and not friendly legislators out. When not knowing for sure who is good for animals and who isn’t, it is safer to vote Democratic. Republicans are most likely not good for animals. If you have questions about the people running to represent you, email us at info@voicesofwildlifeinnh.org, as we are more than happy to help.

HB1100, the bill to close the coyote hunting season for five months, was voted out of committee Inexpedient to Legislate (ITL)

HB1527, the bill to allow landowners to use purple paint to mark property No Trespassing, was ITL.

SB346, the bill to end coyote hounding, was tabled by the Senate.

UPDATE: January 21, 2024, The Senate Energy and Natural Resources has not voted on our legislation to end coyote hounding, so there is still time to contact them and politely ask them to support this bill to end the cruel and unnecessary hounding of coyotes. They are not meeting on Tuesday, January 23, so they may vote the following Tuesday. Copy and paste these email addresses of the Senators on the Committee: Regina.Birdsell@leg.state.nh.us
Howard.Pearl@leg.state.nh.us
david.watters@leg.state.nh.us
Debra.Altschiller@leg.state.nh.us
Kevin.Avard@leg.state.nh.us

January 18, 2024 Read this about the hearing. You will need to click the Sen hearing report with the date of 1/12/2024. Thank you to everyone for sending in your Support for the bill. We had 228 people sign in to Support and 34 to Oppose.

January 10, 2024: The hearing for SB 346 was yesterday, and you can watch it by clicking HERE. We are hearing they will executive session it next week. The squirrel bill was heard right before the coyote bill and will also be in executive session next week. We will update you. There is still time to contact the members of the committee or just one if you see something specific you would like to address after watching the hearing, such as a question one of them may have asked. Please make sure always to be polite. Addressing them as Senator and then the name is respectful. Executive session is when they discuss the bill and then make a decision on whether they will support it or not. We can watch this proceeding, but we cannot participate. It will also stream online.

January 1, 2024: We have a date for Senate Bill 346, the bill to prohibit coyote hounding. You can NOW sign in remotely to vote in SUPPORT of the bill. Click here to open the page. There will be a calendar on the page and click January 9 and go from there. It is self-explanatory, but here are step-by-step instructions if you want to review the process.

Coyote hounding is wanton waste. NH Fish and Game is opposed to wanton waste of a natural resource. Coyotes are not eaten, and the fur is useless after being bitten by dogs and at times of year when coyote hounding is permitted.

It is inhumane to the hounds and the coyotes. Coyotes cannot escape dogs by climbing a tree. Once exhausted, they must turn and fight to protect themselves. Because the coyotes are outnumbered, it is a losing battle for them. It takes some time for the hunter to catch up to shoot the coyote.

Coyote hounding is not fair chase hunting. NH Fish and Game states it is opposed to non-fair chase hunting. Coyote hounding is done purely for sport and fun. It is unethical hunting.

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COYOTE 2024 NEW HAMPSHIRE LEGISLATION

Coyotes will have two bills in the 2024 legislative session, beginning in January, to give them something they have deserved for a long time – a closed hunting season to raise their pups and an end to cruel and vicious hounding. HB 1100, the Coyote Pup Protection Act, will be heard in the NH House, most likely in January, and after that, the bill to prohibit coyote hounding will be heard in the NH Senate. When the House bill passes the House, it goes to the Senate; when the Senate bill passes the Senate, it goes to the House. We need everyone’s help along the way. For a clearer picture of the legislative process, READ THIS.

Your help will only be as difficult as you choose it to be. Most of it you can do right from your phone or computer. If you want to attend the hearings, that is great, but contacting your NH Representatives and Senators by phone or email is the most important thing you can do. They will support the bills if they see enough support from their constituents.

This will begin in January 2024, so enjoy the holidays until then!

Easiest Action: An online voting ballot will be posted before committees hear bills. We will notify you if we have your email address when this is posted. Otherwise, follow our Facebook page or this website. Often, there is short notice, so we recommend we have your email address, but if not, please keep checking often, beginning in January.

Contact the NH lawmakers who represent you: We all have one Senator and usually more than one Representative. Go to the House roster page and select your town to find yours. When writing or calling them, make sure they know you are a constituent. If your Representative or Senator is on one of the committees hearing the bills, please get in touch with them before the committee hearing. If they are not on the committee, you can wait until after the hearing to get in touch with the Reps and Senator who represent you. Just please get in touch with them before the Full House or Full Senate vote. We will let you know when that happens.

The Committees: The House committee hearing HB 1100 is the Fish and Game and Marine Resources Committee. The Senate committee hearing the coyote hounding bill is the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

If you are able to do more, such as attending the hearings and signing in support of the bills, we would love to have you there. It will be helpful to have your email so we can let you know when and how, but you can also show up at the Legislative Office Building for the House and the State Capitol building for the Senate bills. We will post the days, times, and room numbers here as soon as we find out.

Op-ed from coyote expert Chris Schadler Coyote hounding is simple animal abuse, by Chris Schadler | Op-Ed Columns | sentinelsource.com

How to watch NH Fish and Game Commission meetings — Since Sep 2022, Voices of Wildlife has been filming the NH Fish and Game Commission meetings.