More Than Just Strays:

Understanding the Critical Role of Animal Control Officers in New Jersey

When you think of an Animal Control Officer, you might picture someone picking up a stray dog or responding to a barking complaint. While those tasks are part of the job, they represent only a small portion of what ACOs actually do.

In New Jersey, Animal Control Officers are much more than animal catchers. They are public safety professionals, emergency responders, and animal welfare advocates. Their work spans public health, law enforcement, disaster response, and community outreach. It’s one of the most misunderstood yet essential roles in local government.

First Responders for Animals and People

ACOs are often the first on the scene when animals are in danger—whether due to fire, abuse, hoarding, or abandonment. They respond to car accidents involving pets, assist in domestic disputes, and remove animals from unsafe environments.

In emergencies, they coordinate with police, firefighters, and EMTs to protect both animals and people.

Protecting Public Health

Animal Control Officers play a critical role in disease prevention. They respond to rabies incidents, manage quarantines, and oversee the safe handling of animals exposed to zoonotic diseases.

They also handle the removal of dead animals from public roads and properties to reduce public health risks.

Investigating Cruelty and Neglect

While ACOs must contact a Humane Law Enforcement Officer for formal investigations, they are often the first to witness signs of animal cruelty or neglect.

They document what they see, sometimes assist in gathering evidence, and notify the Humane Law Enforcment Officers. In many cases, their quick response lays the groundwork for legal action against abusers.

Community Support and Cat Management

ACOs aren’t just enforcers—they’re problem solvers. They help families in crisis by delivering pet food and supplies, reuniting lost pets with owners, and providing education on responsible pet care.

They are also key players in managing feral and community cat populations through Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs, which reduce overpopulation and improve quality of life for outdoor cats.

Wildlife, Exotics, and Dangerous Animals

From injured deer to illegally kept snakes, ACOs handle it all. They respond to calls involving wild animals, exotic pets, and livestock. In many cases, they collaborate with the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Agriculture, and local rescues or sanctuaries to ensure safe and lawful outcomes.

A Network of Collaboration

Animal Control Officers frequently work with:

  • Police and fire departments

  • Local and state health officials

  • Social services

  • Prosecutors and code enforcement

  • Wildlife agencies

  • Veterinary clinics and rescue groups

They are a critical part of the network that protects animals and keeps communities safe.

Why It Matters

Animal Control Officers are not just doing a job—they are fulfilling a mission. They rescue, educate, de-escalate, and enforce. They do it all, often with limited resources and little recognition.

We rely on them to be the first line of defense for the voiceless. In return, they deserve public support, professional training, and respect.

Take Action

  • Learn who your local ACO is

  • Ask your town about their animal control resources

  • Report abuse and neglect immediately

  • Support legislation that protects both animals and the professionals who serve them

Behind every safe rescue, every cruelty investigation, and every community cat saved, there is an ACO doing the hard work.

Let’s give them the visibility—and the backup—they deserve.

Animal Control Services

 Animal control services are entities charged with responding to requests for help with animals.  They perform a variety of duties.

  • Capturing and impounding dangerous or stray animals
  • Enforcing licensing laws and other state, county, and city laws and regulations that are applicable to the animal control program.
  • Providing expert testimony in court cases
  • Rescuing animals
  • Writing incident reports

Animal Control is provided at the local level and administered by Animal Control Officers (ACO’s).

State rules require the impoundment of stray dogs, or dogs or other animals observed by an ACO to be ill, injured or creating a threat to public health. Impounded animals must be held for seven days at a facility licensed as a pound prior to adoption or euthanasia. ACOs do not generally address wildlife nuisance problems unless the wildlife exhibit signs of rabies.

ACOs can be contacted through municipal police departments and local health departments. Every municipality must use a licensed impoundment facility where stray animals are taken for evaluation and held for owners to reclaim their lost pets.

If you need assistance with nuisance wildlife situations, contact the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Fish and Game for guidance.

Animal Control

Monday - Friday 7am - 4pm call you local animal shelter and/or animal control services.  

Police Dispatch (after hours, holidays and weekends) 

If an animal is hurting another animal or person or is a nuisance, you should report it to animal control.

Stray/Lost Pets and Injured Animals

Stray Dogs and Injured Animals

Animal Control services provide services to the residents of the municipality when an animal is hurting another animal or a person. They enforce the city ordinances for leash laws, dogs at large, and unlicensed dogs, in Trenton. 

ACOs should respond to calls regarding stray/lost dogs that are contained and injured stray animals and will work with members of the public to resolve "nuisance" complaints (barking, abandonment, dangerous dogs, etc.).

Animal control does NOT respond to reports of abuse, cruelty, or neglect of any animal, anywhere in Trenton unless requested to accompany law enforcement.  That request must come from law enforcement.  Animal cruelty is in the law enforcement purview, not animal control. Here is a brief outline of what Trenton Humane Enforcement does and does not do.

Animal Control Should:

  • Provide emergency stray dog and cats service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year (dog must be contained, although we will attempt to find it during daylight hours)
  • Enforce dog licensure.
  • Pick up stray dogs and cats and provide impoundment services.
  • Pick up distressed or injured stray dogs or cats.
  • Respond to calls concerning:
    • Nuisance dogs
    • Dogs at large
    • Dangerous dogs
    • Breeders

Animal Control Does Not:

  • Respond to reports of animal cruelty unless requested to do so by law enforcement. This includes improper shelter and tethering, which are part of Title 4, animal cruelty laws.

Reporting Animal Cruelty

IMPORTANT NOTICE (NJ) - Beginning on February 1, 2019, animal cruelty investigations became the responsibility of law enforcement and all investigations shall be conducted by Humane Law Enforcement Officers (HLEOs) who report to county prosecutors.

If you suspect animal cruelty or abuse, contact your County Prosecutors Office or local police for assistance.

To Report Animal Cruelty call your local police department.

If you need to report animal cruelty or abuse involving livestock (including horses, cattle, and poultry), contact the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Division of Animal Health by calling 609-671-6400 or via email: state.veterinarian@ag.nj.gov.

What is Considered Animal Cruelty or Abuse in NJ?

Animal cruelty laws in New Jersey make it a crime to abuse animals in various ways, including:

  • torture, maiming, poisoning, or cruelly beating an animal, either intentionally or recklessly
  • killing an animal needlessly
  • not providing necessary care, and
  • leaving an animal alone in a vehicle under harmful conditions (for example, when the temperature in the car is hot enough to threaten the animal’s health or welfare).
  • Any animal outside in adverse environmental conditions without proper shelter
  • Any dog improperly tethered and/or tethered between the hours of 11 pm - 5 am.

(N.J. Stat. § 4:22-17 (2022)

Abandoning Animals

Anyone who abandons a domestic animal—or any sick or injured creature—can be found guilty of a “disorderly persons offense” (similar to a misdemeanor) and fined up to $1,000.

(N.J. Stat. § 4:22-20.)

Is it illegal to leave dogs and other pets outside in adverse weather?

It’s illegal in New Jersey to leave dogs, service animals, or any pets in “adverse environmental conditions” for more than 30 minutes unless they have access to a proper shelter or their human caretaker is with them or can see them the whole time. The law defines these adverse conditions as including:

  • temperatures below freezing or too hot and
  • other bad weather (like wind, rain, snow, ice, sleet, or hail) or dangers (like direct sunlight or hot surfaces) that reasonable people would know could be a risk to the animal’s health.
    • the age and physical condition of the animal
    • the length of the animal's fur/hair.

Whenever there’s an emergency evacuation order, people must do their best to evacuate with their pets, take them somewhere safe, or at least secure them in a protected area and tell emergency responders where the animals are located.

Anyone who violates these requirements could face the penalties for animal neglect (described above). However, a first offense will generally result in a warning unless authorities had to seize the pet because it was at risk of immediate harm.

(N.J. Stat. §§ 4:22-17.1, 4:22-17.2, 4:22-17.7, 4:22-17.8 (2022).

and more... Refer to NJSA 4:22-17 in the Animal Cruelty Section

Lost Pet Intake Process

Standards for Animal Shelter Facilities

A well-designed animal shelter facility plays a crucial role in the care provided to animals. Proper planning and efficient use of space are key to supporting the physical and emotional well-being of shelter populations, aligning with the organization's mission. The facility must include adequate space for essential shelter operations and programs, allowing the organization to meet its mandate effectively while promoting the health and welfare of the animals in their care.

Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters

The Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ (ASV) Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters was originally published in 2010. This second edition keeps the intent and format of the original document, while incorporating important updates based on the growing body of animal sheltering science and recommendations rooted in practical experience.

This document is intended to guide all personnel, including administrative, medical, behavior, and animal care staff; volunteers; foster caregivers; sole operators; and those filling any other role that supports animal well-being.

 

This information is included here because many animal control officers run animal shelters, but all of them see them.