Sister Maria Philomena

Livestock guardian dogs are an integral part of any family farm who relies on them to protect their livestock and keep predators at bay. There have been multiple confirmed livestock kills by black bears and coyotes in the past several years, highlighting the need for livestock guardian dogs. Integral to their charge, barking is the cornerstone of the livestock guardian dogs tools for predator deterrence. Without the livestock guardian dogs barking to warn off predators and keep their livestock safe, they cannot do their job. Their job is not to be locked away at night or forced into silence, night and dawn is when predators strike the most frequently and livestock guardian dogs are nocturnal workers by nature, knowing they need not guard as heavily during the day due to the lack predators. A restriction of ten minutes of barking renders a livestock guardian useless and would require livestock owners to lock their dogs away at night. The standard for nuisance barking dogs in local town ordinance throughout the state is 30 minutes of sustained barking, the proposal of 10 minutes is wholly unreasonable and is 1/3 that of the current reasonable standard used by many of our NH communities. I am strongly against any barking restriction determined by time against any livestock guardian dog, as it defeats the very purpose and nature of the livestock guardian dogs. The passing of this bill would incur tens of thousands in costs to local NH farmers, not only the monetary loss incurred by having well trained livestock guardian dogs rendered useless, but the inevitable and consistent loss of livestock to predation. Finally, the law seems to just be a tool for a frustrated neighbor. The owner will find it almost impossible to "prove the presence of a predator" (in my dogs' case, the barking is proof of a predator!). This is a case for neighbors working issue out, not the government stepping in. Please vote against this bill as inappropriate to legislate.