Animal control service

Black and white photo of an animal control officer (then known as a dog-catcher) restraining a stray cat in 1924.
An animal control officer (then known as a dog-catcher) restraining a stray cat in a net.

An animal control service or animal control agency is an entity charged with responding to requests for help with animals, including wild animals, dangerous animals, and animals in distress. An individual who works for such an entity was once known as a dog catcher, but is generally now called an animal control officer, and may be an employee or a contractor – commonly employed by a municipality, county, shire,[1] or other subnational government area.