Animal Control Officer
Animal Control Officer scores 76/100 on this site's structural exposure measure, reflecting how little of the job overlaps with current AI task content.
We have not ingested real-world usage data for this occupation yet. We show a band only where genuine data exists, rather than estimate one.
What a animal control officer actually does
Animal control officers respond to reports of stray, dangerous, or mistreated animals, investigate complaints of cruelty or animal-related nuisances, and physically capture and remove animals from situations that put the public or the animal itself at risk.
A typical call means driving to a location, assessing an animal's behavior and condition on-site (sometimes a loose, aggressive dog; sometimes a wild animal that's wandered into a neighborhood), and physically capturing it using nets, catch poles, tranquilizer darts, or humane traps, judgment calls that depend entirely on reading the specific animal and situation in front of them.
Officers also investigate animal-cruelty complaints, interviewing witnesses, documenting evidence, and examining animals for signs of injury, malnutrition, or abuse, then writing reports that can become the basis for citations or criminal charges. Between calls, officers maintain records of impoundments, coordinate with local shelters and veterinarians on medical treatment for injured or sick animals, and educate the public on local animal-control ordinances and responsible pet ownership.
Why it reads this way
Animal Control Officer scores 76/100 on this site's structural exposure measure, reflecting how little of the job overlaps with current AI task content. The core of the work, physically capturing an unpredictable, sometimes aggressive live animal in an unstructured real-world environment, and investigating cruelty complaints that require in-person interviews and physical evidence examination, is exactly the kind of judgment-heavy, real-time physical task current AI and robotics can't perform.
No state broadly licenses this role, requirements vary by jurisdiction and often come through on-the-job or state-specific training rather than a formal license, so the protection here is almost entirely physical and situational rather than legal.
A search for AI or robotic systems performing animal capture or cruelty investigation in place of a human found no evidence of it happening: the closest adjacent technology, camera-based animal-detection systems, only flags a possible animal sighting for a human officer to respond to, it doesn't replace the physical capture or the judgment call about how to safely handle a specific, unpredictable animal. BLS projects average growth for this occupation (3-4%, 2024-2034), consistent with steady, non-AI-driven demand for the role.
Skills this role draws on
We don't yet have task-by-task time-share data for this occupation, so we can't show which specific tasks carry the exposure score above. This is the real skill set instead.
Typical salary range (USD)
$33,090–$68,070
Average: $45,660/yr
Range source: BLS OEWS wage data via O*NET OnLine (2025 release), SOC 33-9011.00 'Animal Control Workers'
Average source: BLS OEWS wage data for Animal Control Workers (33-9011.00) via O*NET OnLine, 2025 wage data (Annual Median Wage)
Related careers
Head-to-head comparisons
Animal Control Officer scores 76/100 (Medium confidence), reflecting how little of the job overlaps with current AI task content. The core of the work, physically capturing an unpredictable, sometimes aggressive live animal in an unstructured environment, and investigating cruelty complaints that require in-person interviews and physical evidence examination, is exactly the kind of judgment-heavy, real-time physical task current AI and robotics can't perform. No state broadly licenses this role, requirements vary by jurisdiction, so the protection here is physical/situational rather than legal. A targeted search for AI or robotic systems performing animal capture or cruelty investigation in place of a human found no evidence of it happening — the closest adjacent technology, camera-based animal-detection systems, only flags a possible sighting for a human officer to respond to. BLS projects average growth (3-4%, 2024-2034), consistent with steady, non-AI-driven demand, as of 2026-08-17.
This is a researched judgment (checklist v1.2), not a statistical measurement — it sits alongside, not instead of, the structural exposure signal above. Next scheduled review: 2027-02-17.
Data sources & methodology
Salary data: BLS OEWS wage data via O*NET OnLine (2025 release), SOC 33-9011.00 'Animal Control Workers'. Min/max figures represent the 10th–90th percentile annual wage range across the United States. Average figure sourced separately: BLS OEWS wage data for Animal Control Workers (33-9011.00) via O*NET OnLine, 2025 wage data (Annual Median Wage).
Automation Risk Score: Based on O*NET occupational analysis (33-9011.00) evaluating task complexity, physical requirements, social intelligence, and environmental variability. Methodology based on research from Frey & Osborne (Oxford, 2017).
Growth projections: 3-4% (2024-2034), about as fast as the all-occupation average, with roughly 1,300 openings projected over the decade (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook), based on BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.