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MAC says police should notify animal control at arrests; agency outlines finder-foster practice and intake procedures
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Summary
MAC told the working group that MNPD/MMPD are expected to call animal control when animals at an arrest scene need removal, described finder-foster procedures used during intake closures and clarified court support and enforcement channels.
Director Harrington told the working group that when police encounter animals that must be removed from a scene — such as an arrest or other intervention — the police are expected to call MAC so officers can pick up and care for those animals. She said MAC cannot issue state-level citations, so police handle some prosecutions and environmental-court cases; MAC has a paralegal (Christine) who assists with court work.
The group discussed cases where police were not called or where officers had to triage calls; councilmembers asked MAC to follow up with MNPD/MMPD on policies and contacts that trigger notification to animal-control staff. Councilmember Russ Bradford argued animals in life-threatening situations should be triaged comparably to human-welfare calls.
Harrington described MAC’s intake practice when shelter capacity is full: finders are asked to ‘finder foster’ — temporarily care for the animal at home while MAC provides resources (food, pop-up kennels, bedding) and logs the found-animal report to start stray-hold procedures. The agency also maintains an internal foster registry in its shelter-management software but said there is no statewide foster registry known to them.
Councilmembers requested a public FAQ and a web link for the foster sign-up and other resources; MAC agreed to add a link and to coordinate outreach through council newsletters and social media.
