From a social media-famous squirrel named Peanut that’s inspiring legislative action to hot-button issues like cat declawing, hallucinogenic mushrooms and sticky rodent traps, New Hampshire’s State House docket is set to feature some quirky legislation next year.

New Hampshire legislators don’t just stick to the big-ticket items. Among several hundred bills filed so far, here are seven of the most niche and random ones – and why lawmakers have chosen to pursue them.

Squirrels and raccoons as pets

If you’ve ever taken in an injured squirrel or raccoon that couldn’t be released back into the wild, Rep. James Spillane wants to make it easier to keep them as pets. His proposed bill aims to make these animals legal to own so they can get the veterinary care they need, stay healthy and ensure they’re not carrying rabies.

The inspiration for this bill came from Peanut, a gray rescue squirrel who had been living under the care of a New York resident for seven years. But in October, the state stepped in and euthanized Peanut to test for rabies, sparking outrage among animal lovers.

“I didn’t want New Hampshire to get a black eye like New York has over somebody confiscating pets and killing them,” said Spillane. “I wanted to make sure we have a safety net in place to make sure that our law enforcement doesn’t rush in and make the kind of mistake that they made there.”

This bill, however, isn’t about letting people snatch up wild raccoons or squirrels for the sake of having exotic pets. It’s focused on gray squirrels and raccoons, known for being easier to domesticate and only applies to those who are rehabilitated and cannot be released back into the wild.

Cats without claws

Declawing cats to State Rep. Michael Bordes is equivalent to “cutting off the human finger at the middle joint.”

For him declawing isn’t just a bad practice — it’s outright animal cruelty, and he’s determined to put an end to it. That’s why he’s pushing a bill to ban the feline procedure in New Hampshire.

“If your child draws with a crayon on the wall, are you going to chop their finger off? I think it’s a weak place for reasoning,” said Bordes. “If you worry about a cat scratching your furniture, you probably shouldn’t have a cat in the first place.”

This isn’t the first time lawmakers have debated the issue. A similar bill made it to the Senate this year but didn’t survive the vote.

The proposed bill makes exceptions for medical reasons, but Bordes pointed out that declawing leaves cats defenseless. Without claws, their natural go-to becomes biting — a far more aggressive reaction than scratching.

‘Magic’ mushrooms

Rep. Kevin Verville thinks it’s time to rethink the legal status of psychedelics — starting with psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms.

“I don’t find that the compounds are particularly dangerous, as long as you are not operating heavy machinery, etc.,” said Verville. “It makes no sense to make people that possess psychedelics instant felons for the rest of their life, and so for that reason I don’t believe that they should be Schedule I drugs.”

He is pitching a bill to legalize the use and possession of psilocybin for adults aged 21 and older. Earlier this year, he introduced broader legislation to legalize not only psilocybin but also mescaline and LSD. However, that proposal didn’t make it through the State House.

“It was a big bite at the apple,” he admits.

This time, he’s narrowing the focus to psilocybin, noting that it’s naturally occurring, unlike other psychedelics that are synthetic substances.

Studies have shown that psilocybin can help treat depression and anxiety. Rep. Verville says that even if his bill doesn’t pass, he’s confident a proposal to legalize psychedelics for medical use will be on the table soon.

Oregon and California are the only two states to have decriminalized psilocybin.

Outlawing stickyrodent traps

Those adhesive traps used to catch mice, rats and other rodents may become illegal in New Hampshire. Rep. Linda Haskins of Exeter is reviving a bill that failed last year. People often forget to collect the traps after setting them, and other wildlife can get stuck. When that happens, she said, they either die a “slow, painful death” or chew off their own leg to escape.

“I didn’t set out to be the animal rights activist person, but it just didn’t make sense to me. I thought, ‘We can do better than this. This is 2024,’ ” Haskins said. “We just can’t have these things. They’re just inhumane.”

While some think adhesive traps should be an option to deal with pest overpopulation, Haskins believes there are better ways to get the job done, including a newer method of rodent contraception. Some areas lace bait with a nontoxic contraceptive that doesn’t hurt the rodents but keeps them from reproducing.

The official animated film of New Hampshire

Goffstown Rep. Joe Alexander is pitching “Within the Crystal Hills,” a short film made by a local to honor a New Hampshire icon, to be recognized as the state’s official animated film. The director, Griffin Hansen, grew up in Goffstown, and the eight-minute animation is a creative retelling of how the Old Man on the Mountain came to be.

Alexander wants to preserve the famous New Hampshire symbol for younger generations who may not remember it from before it fell in 2003.

He also thinks the Legislature gets too serious sometimes.

“Everybody needs a fun bill,” Alexander said.

Proclaiming the Virginia opossum as NH’sstate marsupial

After Sen. Donovan Fenton visited a fourth-grade class in Chesterfield to talk to them about how government works, the class signed a petition requesting this bill, which would recognize the Virginia opossum as the state’s official marsupial. This declaration isn’t his legislative priority this session, Fenton joked, but he’s “doing the people’s work.”

On their petition, he said, the students noted fun facts about Virginia opossums – for starters, they’re the only marsupials in New Hampshire.

“It’s nice to see them involved and curious about how legislation works,” Fenton said. “You know, it’s hopefully a noncontroversial bill, but people always find reasons to fight over things, and I really hope we can come together and show this fourth-grade class how a bill becomes a bill.”

Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com. Charlotte Matherly can be reached at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.