April 19- Update- a modified version of H.626 has passed the house and now goes to the Senate. Thank you everyone who contacted your reps, your voice DOES make a difference! Thank you!

H.626/S.292 is an important bill that will help animals and people in Vermont. Read the bill here, and read our Fact Sheet  that summarizes the key points of this bill.

Currently, protections for animals are spread across many agencies in our state, making for a system that is fragmented, inefficient, and most importantly, ineffective. The intent of H.626 was to create a Division of Animal Welfare which will develop, implement, and administer a centralized program for investigating and enforcing animal welfare laws in Vermont. It was also to provide much needed oversight of VT animal shelters and rescues, and set health and safety requirements for animals transported into VT for adoption.

• Keep up with what is happening with this bill and others related to animal welfare by signing up for action alerts sent by the Vermont Humane Federation, a unified group of animal welfare professionals, including CVHS.
• See our very own Erika Holm talk about the need for this bill on WCAX.
• Read VT Digger’s story on how baby goats suffered and died because our system is broken.