How do I file a complaint?
To report an animal issue, please call the Grand Island Emergency Center at 308-384-9380. An officer will be sent to investigate your complaint as quickly as possible.
I have been bitten by an animal – what should I do?
All animal bites should be reported to law enforcement immediately by calling the Grand Island Emergency Center at 308-384-9380. An officer will be dispatched to conduct a bite investigation, and, in most cases, place the animal on a 10-day rabies quarantine period. The responding officer will inform you of the applicable protocols and keep you informed of the case progress. All victims of an animal bite should consult a physician regarding appropriate medical treatment.
The same steps should be followed if your animal is bitten by another animal. Please report the bite to law enforcement immediately and consult your veterinarian regarding appropriate medical treatment for your animal.
How many animals can I own?
No residential property shall have more than four dogs and/or cats over three months of age.
Please review local ordinances regarding limits for other species of animals.
Does Animal Control relocate wildlife?
Wildlife often tries to coexist with us, even in residential and urban areas. Often our housing and businesses encroach on areas that have been a habitat for groups of wild animals for years.
Officers will respond to any wildlife call involving an animal that appears to be a public health risk. The level of risk will be determined by law enforcement. Officers are not authorized to trap healthy or non- threatening wildlife simply for relocation.
Why is relocation of wildlife not recommended?
It is not an effective solution. If you remove one animal from your property another will come to take its place.
You will never succeed in eliminating wildlife from your property as long as you have a source of food or shelter. Fixing holes, capping chimneys, covering trash cans and removing pet food will eliminate wildlife much more effectively.
Trapping is indiscriminate – you may trap your neighbor’s cat or another animal unrelated to your nuisance problem.
It’s illegal in the off season! Although widely ignored, all forms of trapping are legally limited to designated hunting and trapping seasons which are designed to allow mothers to rear young without harassment.
Trapping for relocation is governed by NE Game and Parks Regulation 008.08C3 in Title 163, Chapter 4 dictates the following:
- Without the authorization of the Commission, it shall be unlawful to release into the wild any wildlife other than fish, mollusks and crustaceans and those listed in 008.08C2 which has been transported from one location to another over a distance exceeding 100 yards or after such wildlife has been in captivity for a time period exceeding 48 hours.
- Due to the limited distance that wildlife can be transported, wildlife will continue to return to the area where it was trapped as long as the resources for survival (food, water, shelter) remain.
It is highly stressful to be relocated. Most animals do not survive in unfamiliar territory. Resident animals will drive off the intruder or the animal will not know where to find food and shelter. A recent study shows more than 90% of relocated raccoons die within a short period of time.
Even Humane Traps can injure animals – or they can injure themselves trying to escape during the hours they are confined to traps.
Finally – when you trap and relocate someone’s mother might not come home! From early spring until late fall the chances are 50/50 that the animal you trap is a mother whose babies depend on her for survival. Taking a mother away condemns the babies to starvation and death.
With a little effort we can coexist with wildlife. If they inconvenience you, try to remember their only motive is survival. They have no concept of property or damage.