By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD – Pig scrambles could be outlawed in the Granite State under a bill that was heard on Tuesday.

House Bill 1013 would prohibit games common at county fairs in which the object is to capture a pig.

Supporters of the ban said it is an inhumane practice that emotionally harms the animal, while supporters say the game is family fun and better for the pig than being at the slaughterhouse.

Rep. Cathryn Harvey, D-Chesterfield, is the sponsor of the bill, which was heard before the House Environment and Agriculture Committee.

She said the bill is modeled after a Minnesota law passed in 1971, and that Rhode Island has also banned the practice. If the bill is passed, the effective date would be Jan. 1, 2027.

It reads: “No person shall operate, run, or participate in a contest, game, or other activity, in which a pig, greased, oiled, or otherwise, is released and where the object is the capture of the pig. Any person who violates this paragraph shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”

There were two people who spoke in opposition of the bill and six who spoke in support. Online, 131 supported the measure and nine were opposed.

Harvey said she has seen pig scrambles at the Cheshire Fair and described the event as a contest where there are fewer pigs than contestants, which are children. The pigs are released into an enclosed pen and the goal is to catch the pig by its hind legs to put into a feed sack. Judges then snip out a hole in the sack for their snout to allow them to breath, and the winners get to take the pigs home, whether or not they have a farm.

The pigs, she said, “are definitely not willing participants” and move quickly through levels of stress.

She said the pigs are as smart as a 3-year-old child and can easily suffer injury, adding that she has gone to these events and the rules are often broken.

Testimony indicated that the scrambles are held at the Cheshire, Deerfield and Lancaster fairs, and may also be held at rodeos or old home days across the state. She said the practice is banned at the Hopkinton and Eastern States fairs.

Fairs are usually held in August during the hottest time of the year and pigs have very little in the way of sweat ducts. She said after each heat in the contest, children are given water but not the pigs, which are tied into a plastic bag. The heats are about 10 minutes but can be extended if the children cannot capture the pigs sooner.

“I think we need to make a decision on whether we are going to abuse the pig at all,” she said.

Harvey said she has heard arguments that this is introducing children to agriculture. She said if a pig got loose, no one would ever try to catch them in this way.

“I would argue that a better way to introduce our children would be our 4-H programs,” Harvey said. “Pig scrambles are simply rewarding children for abusing animals for entertainment.”

Rob Johnson, policy director for the New Hampshire Farm Bureau, opposed the bill and said with proper oversight and supervision, these popular family events should continue because they connect children with agriculture. He noted that his child was once selected to participate and it was competitive to apply.

“We, as an organization, would not condone a piglet being dragged,” in a competition, adding that he recognized these are not normal animal handling practices.

But he said the scrambles are popular and if rules are being broken there may be an opportunity for education and improved practices of the events. He suggested that the legislature could task the Department of Agriculture to create best practices.

Johnson said there may be ways to educate children in husbandry of the animals, and that with patience and moving slowly they can get the animal to comply.

Rep. Kelley Potenza, R-Rochester, asked if there is a list of all the fairs that have pig scrambles, and Harvey said the list is incomplete.

Harvey said there have been protests and articles in the papers, and yet there have been no changes in the years she has observed the scrambles.

Several members of humane organizations testified in support of the bill. Kurt Ehrenberg, director of the New Hampshire Chapter of Humane World for Animals, said the practice is cruel to the animals.

“Just picture yourself being chased by a mob in a closed space,” Ehrenberg said. “These are highly intelligent animals. Think of your dog or cat being in the same situation. It desensitizes our children,” to animals who face fear and pain.

And there could be some health risks, where pigs are shedding pathogens that pose a risk to humans, he said.

Joan O’Brien, president of the New Hampshire Animal Rights League, said seeing these contests upsets a lot of people and her organization has done a lot of protesting over the years, adding that Deerfield follows the rules better than Cheshire.

Christina Snyder said she started protesting these events in 2019 and got a petition that over 100,000 signed in opposition to pig scrambles. She said she has witnessed them at the Lancaster and Cheshire fairs.

She said she witnessed an abandoned pig “writhing on the floor” in a bag after a contest and could not find a veterinarian, though one was reportedly in attendance. She called it “blatant animal cruelty.”

Linda Dionne of Raymond said she wants the bill to pass.

“I think it is cruel,” she said, adding that giving it up would also protect children.

Rep. Joseph Barton, R-Littleton, said he opposed the bill and supports the practice.

“They are pigs and as Charlotte (in Charlotte’s Web) depicted, it is better to be a game of sport than at a slaughterhouse … I kinda like the sport.”

Asked if he thought people would not go to the fair if it ended, he said he did not think so.

“There is certainly plenty of other contests,” he said.