A New Hampshire representative who frequently hikes around the state says there’s something he wants to see less of on the trails: horse poop.
“It blends in with leaves, pine needles on the ground. More than once I’ve stepped in it,” said state Rep. Mike Harrington, R-Strafford. “It’s gross.”
Harrington has sponsored a bill that would require anybody “who brings an animal into any parking, picnic, or camping area, or onto any road, walkway, or trail in a state park or state forest” to “remove … all solid animal waste produced by such animal,” or face a $50 fine.
It already is drawing strong opposition from horse riders who say requiring them to stop, get off while keeping the horse under control, and somehow dispose of manure isn’t a good idea.
“Requiring a rider to dismount, regardless of the terrain, weather, population, et cetera, to gather up 5 to 10 pounds of manure … is ridiculous,” said Patricia Morris, who teaches animal law at the University of New Hampshire Law School and is chairwoman of the Governor’s Commission on the Humane Treatment of Animals. “Dismounting and mounting on trails should only be done in emergency situations.”
Morris is familiar with this issue. She was a prominent opponent of attempts by the state in 2013 to revise rules about use of state parks and trails that would have done basically what Harrison’s bill would require, mandating horse manure to be removed. That plan was shelved.
“What we don’t oppose, any of us, is that any of the public built-up areas — trailheads, parking lots — need to be cleaned up, not just of manure but of hay and shavings,” Morris said. “But requiring it on trails isn’t safe, isn’t practical.”
Morris said Harrington’s bill also would send the wrong message to the horse-riding community, which spends millions of dollars in New Hampshire.
Harrington, however, says the current situation sends the wrong message to hikers, who also spend a lot of time and money here.
“I’ve never run into a single hiker that says, ‘I think horse poop on the trails is a good idea.’ They all say, ‘Why can’t they just get it off the trail?’ ” he said.
“(The bill) says to remove it from the trail. My theory is, someone’s riding, the horse poops, you get off and get your shovel out, scoop it up and throw it in the woods. You don’t have to carry it with you,” Harrington said. “That takes less time than it does for me to clean the horse poop off my boots once I’ve stepped in it.”
Harrington said he was prompted to file the bill in part by what he called increasing horse manure at Northwood Meadows State Park in Northwood, N.H., both on the trails and in public areas, even close to picnic tables.
Harrington pointed to the situation with the canine community.
“You’re supposed to pick up after your dogs. There are signs about it, little green bags everywhere. Poop is poop, I don’t care who’s doing it,” he said.
The bill, House Bill 296, has been put before the Resources, Recreation and Development Committee. No hearing has been scheduled yet.