The St. Paul Police Department works with St. Paul Animal Control (SPAC) to enforce animal regulations, city ordinances, and state statutes in a humane manner to ensure public safety and protect the public from dangerous animals.

Animal Bites:

  1. Report
    1. Prepare an animal bite report according to instructions listed in the Report Writing Manual.
  1. Animal Quarantine
    1. Dogs and cats:
      1. Dogs and cats that have been involved in a human bite incident must be quarantined for ten days. This quarantine can be done at the owner’s home or the SPAC shelter at the expense of the owner.  If the animal is apprehended but the owner is unknown, call SPAC. If the incident occurs outside of SPAC’s regular business hours, refer to the emergency call roster (located in the Ramsey County ECC Data Channel).
      2. An accurate description of the animal in quarantine is very important. Every effort should be made to determine the owner of the animal and inform them of the immediate quarantine, and/or have the owner sign the quarantine agreement if available.
    1. Wild animals
      1. Wild animals involved in a human bite (i.e., skunk, civet cat, raccoon, fox, bat, etc.) should be immediately dispatched in accordance with this policy’s procedures and G.O. 246.02. Officers should contact the SPAC for retrieval of the animal.  If this situation occurs outside of the SPAC’s regular business hours, officers should transport the carcass deceased animal to the SPAC shelter. Officers should complete the necessary forms provided at the SPAC shelter.
    1. Small animals
      1. Officers should contact SPAC for the retrieval of small animals (i.e., birds, snakes, mice, etc.) involved in a human bite.  If this situation occurs outside of the SPAC’s regular business hours, and the animal is alive, officers should contact the SPAC emergency call roster via the Ramsey County ECC Data Channel. 
      2. If the animal is not alive, officers should transport the deceased animal to the SPAC shelter and place it in the cooler.  There are bags and tags on the wall near the cooler.  Officers should complete the paperwork on the clipboard outside the cooler.
  1. SPAC Follow-Up
    1. SPAC will follow up with any necessary procedures to include: animal quarantine, enforcement, and dangerous animal proceedings. 

After-Hours SPAC Shelter Animal Placement:

Officers transporting an animal to the SPAC shelter after regular business hours should contact the Watch Commander or street supervisor for the combination lock code for the shelter.  Officers should complete the necessary forms provided at the SPAC shelter. 

Injured or Deceased Animals:

Officers should make an attempt to contact the owner of an injured or deceased animal when possible.  It is the owner’s responsibility to have the animal cared for or removed. 

If officers are unable to determine the owner of the animal, or if it is a wild animal, they should do the following:

    1. Contact SPAC (available on car-to-car talkgroup or by phone).   If the animal is injured after regular business hours and public safety is at risk (i.e., animal is too dangerous or threatening), refer to the emergency call roster (located in the Ramsey County ECC Data Channel).  Officers should remain on scene until SPAC arrives.
    1. For severely injured deer, SPAC can respond to dispatch and remove the animal. If the deer is already deceased, Public Works may be contacted for its removal. If the deer is not already deceased but is injured in a way where it is reasonable to humanely dispatch the animal, officers may dispatch severely injured deer in accordance with the procedure below and G.O. 246.02.  If a party would like to take possession of a deceased deer and Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officers or MN State Troopers are unavailable, officers may issue a Road Kill Deer Possession Permit.
    1. Officers may contact SPAC to determine the appropriate steps for injured/deceased small animals (i.e., birds, snakes, and mice, etc.).  It is important to remember that most injured animals will bite when attempts are made to help them. Caution should be exercised in handling and transporting an injured animal. 
    1. Raptors (birds of prey) hold special status alive or dead. Contact SPAC or deliver these animals to the shelter.

Dangerous Animals:

SPAC personnel will be dispatched to calls of dangerous animals during their regular business hours. It may be necessary for SPAC personnel to call police for assistance.  Once the animal is subdued, the animal control officers will assume the responsibility of the animal.

Officers dispatched to calls of dangerous animals outside of the SPAC’s regular business hours should contact the SPAC emergency call roster via the Ramsey County ECC Data Channel for assistance.

Humanely Euthanizing Injured or Dangerous Animals:

There are times when an animal is injured and suffering, is an immediate threat to public safety, or otherwise needs to be dispatched by a police officer.  Officers should use the following procedure when time and safety allows:

      1. Officers should never get within reach of an injured or aggressive animal, even a seemingly paralyzed animal may attack.
      1. Officers should obtain the owner’s permission before dispatching an animal that is not a wild animal, if possible. 
      1. Officers should notify their supervisor prior to dispatching the animal.
      1. Officers should ensure the backstop beyond the animal is clear.  All precautions should be taken to ensure the safety of surrounding persons and property when dispatching animals.  Officers should not dispatch the animal unless they are able to safely do so.
      1. Officers should choose the appropriate firearm based on the circumstances and the officer’s training.
      1. Officers may only dispatch an animal according to department training. Officers should attempt to dispatch the animal with as little additional suffering as reasonably possible. The ideal place for a shot is to the head (not applicable for suspected rabies or human bite situations).  If safe to do so, deer and other smaller animals can be dispatched in this manner.  Larger animals such as bear have a very thick skull that makes it difficult or impossible to penetrate.  When the head is not a practical target, officers should use the chest, heart and lung area, as a target area.  
      1. Notify the Ramsey County ECC of the incident so they may alert any citizens who call in to report shots fired.
      1. Recover all shell casings or shotgun hulls and turn them into the Property Room, in accordance with G.O. 439.13 (Property and Evidence).
      1. Disposal of the animal. 
        1. If rabies is not suspected and the incident did not involve a human bite: 
          1. If it is not a wild animal and the owner is present, it is the responsibility of the owner to dispose of the animal. 
          2. If the owner is not present, cannot be located, or refuses to make arrangements, or it is a wild animal, the officer should contact the City’s Public Works Department for disposal. 
        1. If rabies is suspected or the incident involved a human bite:
          1. The officer should contact SPAC during regular business hours and ask them to recover the animal.  If it is outside of SPAC’s regular business hours, officers should safely transport the animal to the SPAC shelter and follow the After-Hours SPAC Shelter Animal Placement protocols above. 
      1. Write an incident report documenting the circumstances.  Officers must document the names, addresses, phone numbers and contact information of witnesses and any complainants.

 Revised May 15, 2019

Last Edited: July 22, 2020