Malloy Applauds Committee Approval of Legislation Protecting Owners of Domestic Horses

Press Release

Governor Dannel P. Malloy today applauded the General Assembly's Environment Committee for voting to approve legislation he introduced that protects horse owners or keepers, and the state's associated agriculture industry, by clarifying into law that domesticated horses are not wild animals and as such are not "inherently dangerous." The committee approved the bill this afternoon in a unanimous vote.

"It is incumbent upon us to fix a situation created by a state court decision that simply went too far," Governor Malloy said. "I want to thank all of the members of the Environment Committee, led by co-chairs State Senator Ed Meyer and State Representative Linda Gentile, for understanding the need for this legislation and voting favorably upon it today."

Governor Malloy introduced the legislation last month, explaining that a 2012 Appellate Court decision could negatively impact horse owners or keepers and associated farmers in Connecticut.

Connecticut's agriculture sector contributes $3.5 billion to our economy and accounts for about 28,000 jobs in our state. Last month, U.S. Department of Agriculture census data found that over the last five years Connecticut has one of the highest growth rates of agriculture in the country, despite an overall decline in farm numbers nationally.

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