An Animal Left in a Car

RSA 644:8-aa — cruelty, and an officer may rescue it

Confining an animal in a vehicle or other enclosed space where the heat or cold is great enough to cause it serious harm is cruelty, a misdemeanor.

RSA 644:8-aa

Who handles this in New Hampshire: legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the New Hampshire directory.

A law enforcement officer, or an agent of a licensed humane organization, may take the action needed to rescue the animal and remove the threat of further harm.

RSA 644:8-aa

Sources for this section (1)

RSA 644:8-aa — Animals in Motor Vehicle

Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New Hampshire attorney.

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Pages on the same subject or the same statutes, or filed beside this one. Most questions turn out to sit across two of them.

Disorderly ConductRSA 644:2 — fighting, provoking words, blocking traffic, and refusing a lawful order to move
HarassmentRSA 644:4 — calls and messages meant to annoy, abuse, threaten or alarm
TrespassRSA 635:2 — entering or staying where one knows one is not licensed or privileged to be
Self DefenseRSA 627:4 — no duty to retreat at home or anywhere a person has a right to be, and no crime in displaying a firearm to warn