New Hampshire Statewide Rule
New Hampshire Livestock and Fowl Trespass Law (RSA 635:3)
Key Facts
- Statute
- RSA 635:3
- Offense level
- Violation (no jail)
- Maximum fine
- $1,000 (RSA 651:2)
- Covered animals
- Sheep, cattle, horses, swine, fowl
- Enforced by
- Police or animal control officer
Summary
New Hampshire makes it a violation to knowingly, recklessly, or negligently let your sheep, goats, cattle, horses, swine, or domestic fowl trespass onto another person's improved or enclosed land and thereby injure their crops or property, under RSA 635:3.
If any person having the charge or custody of any sheep, goats, cattle, horses, swine, or domestic fowl shall knowingly, recklessly, or negligently suffer or permit the same to enter upon, pass over, or remain upon any improved or enclosed land of another without written permission of the owner, occupant, or his or her agent, and thereby injures the owner's crops or property, the person shall be guilty of a violation. Complaints shall be made to law enforcement officials or local animal control officers who shall enforce the provisions of this section.
Full Breakdown
RSA 635:3 targets keepers who let animals stray and cause harm. Liability attaches only when the animal enters improved or enclosed land without the landowner's written permission and actually injures crops or property; mere wandering onto open land is not enough. The offense is a violation, New Hampshire's lowest offense tier, carrying a fine of up to $1,000 under RSA 651:2 and no jail time. Complaints go to local police or the town animal control officer, who are charged with enforcing the section. A 2018 amendment added domestic fowl and the written-permission element.
Violations & Penalties
A conviction is a violation carrying a fine of up to $1,000 under RSA 651:2 with no incarceration; the animal's keeper also remains liable for the crop or property damage caused.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the animal have to cause actual damage to violate RSA 635:3?
Who enforces livestock trespass complaints in New Hampshire?
Sources
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