Seminole County Animal Services offers the following suggestions in dealing with nuisance animals.

If the animal is a dog or cat and you know the address where the animal lives, please contact our dispatchers at 407-665-5110 between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm Monday through Friday and 8:00 am and 4:00 pm on Saturdays. An Animal Services Officer will be sent out to the animal owner’s address to speak with the owner about the problem and advise them of the ordinances in Seminole County.

**NOTE: It is against the law in Seminole County for cats to roam free off of the owners’ property just as it is illegal for dogs. (See Chapter 20; Section 20.23 Animal At Large – Ordinances). For more information, please visit the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s web page on domestic cats.

If the animal is a dog or cat that is friendly and can be safely confined in some way, you may bring the animal in to our shelter or contact our dispatchers at 407-665-5110 and have an Animal Services Officer come out to pick the animal up. Cats must be confined before an officer can be sent out. Officers can patrol areas for loose dogs, however, calls are run in order of priority and there is no guarantee on when an officer can be in the area. Dogs that have not been confined are often gone by the time an officer arrives.

If the animal is a wild animal, please visit the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s web page for tips on how to deal with wildlife problems. Seminole County Animal Services no longer provides traps for the purpose of catching nuisance wildlife, nor will officers remove any trapped wildlife from private property. Any wild animal inadvertently caught in a trap will be released at the trapping site. Several licensed trapping companies provide these services for a fee. For a list of licensed trappers, click here.

If the animal is a dog or cat that cannot be safely confined Seminole County Animals Services will provide live traps to Seminole county residents for the purpose of trapping nuisance animals. Traps must be picked up from Animals Services by the customer. Animals that are caught in traps can be brought in to the shelter, or upon request, picked up by an Animal Services Officer. Because the number of nuisance traps available each day is limited, we recommend that you call our office before coming to the shelter to be sure that there will be a trap available when you arrive. If there are traps available, we will be happy to hold one for you, but you must pick up the trap that same day. Traps will not be held overnight. There is no cost to the customer for using a nuisance trap provided that the trap is returned on time and has not been damaged or destroyed. Customers with lost, damaged, or destroyed traps will be charged $55 for cat traps and $225 for dog traps. Traps are generally loaned out for one week at a time. At the end of that period (and before the trap is late), if you feel that you haven't caught the animal(s) you may call our office to request an extension. In most cases, extensions will be granted, however, traps can only be extended one time to ensure that everyone who needs to use them will get a chance.

When you arrive to pick up a trap, you will be asked to provide your photo identification showing that you reside within Seminole County. We are unable to issue traps to anyone who resides outside of Seminole County or who does not have proper identification. You will be required to sign a trap agreement/voucher of which you will receive a copy. The agreement includes the date when the trap is due back, the fees that may be applied if the trap is late or lost, and the phone number to call to have an animal picked up. Please remember that traps CAN NOT be set on or before legal holidays as we do not have officers available for pick ups.