Sen. Tydegui’s bill would let mayors and approved caretakers temporarily house stray livestock; sponsor seeks start-up funding

A Guam legislative committee on June 29 heard competing views on how best to handle free‑roaming livestock after Sen. Tydegui introduced Bill 330‑38, which would create an Estray Livestock Stewardship Program, authorize temporary municipal custody of stray animals and establish a stewardship and enforcement fund. The sponsor told the Committee the measure balances public safety, animal welfare and owner accountability.

The bill would allow mayors, qualified private caretakers and the Department of Agriculture (DOA) to temporarily secure stray animals and create incentives for owners to register livestock and accept livestock identification tags, while shifting many impoundment costs back to owners when practicable. "Rather than waiting until livestock are loose on the roads ... this legislation emphasizes prevention, identification, accountability, human care, and coordinated response," Sen. Tydegui said in opening remarks.

DOA Director Chelsea Munya told the committee the department supports the stewardship framework in principle but emphasized practical limits. DOA officials said the agency currently lacks transportation trailers, adequate holding facilities, and administrative staff to process caretaker approvals, reimbursements, inspections and enforcement. Munya recommended making implementation contingent on appropriations and flagged the need for equipment and administrative funding.

Territorial veterinarian Dr. Mariana Turner said identification is legally required but uptake has been poor: DOA obtained about 1,000 tags from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for free distribution but saw little adoption. "It is a legal mandate that our livestock ... need to be identified," Turner said, adding that DOA has begun outreach and some livestock‑handling training but cannot reliably seize animals without more resources.

Local municipal officials who testified reiterated operational concerns. Vice Mayor Christopher Farren of the village of Hoggett said his office fields frequent safety and property‑damage complaints from roaming cattle and supports the bill, but that mayors lack training, equipment and facilities to make the new authorities workable. "We can't just throw this down the throats and expect it to work without ... funding sources," he told the panel.

Committee members pressed for cost estimates. The sponsor and DOA discussed a range of figures for equipment and site work: a livestock trailer was estimated at about $30,000, a fenced holding area could cost roughly $100,000 depending on size, and DOA offered larger estimates for a program that included facility rehabilitation and administrative resources (figures in the hearing ranged up to $2.5 million). Sen. Tydegui proposed $200,000 as an initial appropriation to begin pickup capacity, basic fencing and feed while the bill is marked up.

Senators also questioned whether the problem stems from outdated statute or insufficient resourcing, noting the current daily impoundment charges ($2 per large animal) date to older law and do not cover transport or care. DOA and senators discussed possible use of Chamorro Land Trust grazing lands, rehabilitating a northern breeding/holding facility of about five acres, a cooperative grazing model and a mobile harvest unit as part of longer‑term infrastructure solutions.

The committee took no vote; the public hearing record will remain open for seven days. The sponsor said she will work with DOA and mayors on implementation details and budgeting as the bill moves to markup.