Animal control officer vs animal cruelty investigator

The differences between animal control officers and animal cruelty investigators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an animal control officer and an animal cruelty investigator. Additionally, an animal cruelty investigator has an average salary of $53,723, which is higher than the $39,903 average annual salary of an animal control officer.

The top three skills for an animal control officer include PET, patrol and law enforcement agencies. The most important skills for an animal cruelty investigator are law enforcement, patrol, and state laws.

Animal control officer vs animal cruelty investigator overview

	Animal Control Officer	Animal Cruelty Investigator
Yearly salary	$39,903	$53,723
Hourly rate	$19.18	$25.83
Growth rate	-	3%
Number of jobs	87,725	22,147
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Associate Degree, 36%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Animal control officer vs animal cruelty investigator salary

Animal control officers and animal cruelty investigators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Animal Control Officer	Animal Cruelty Investigator
Average salary	$39,903	$53,723
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $68,000	Between $32,000 And $87,000
Highest paying City	San Mateo, CA	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	Citi	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between animal control officer and animal cruelty investigator education

There are a few differences between an animal control officer and an animal cruelty investigator in terms of educational background:

	Animal Control Officer	Animal Cruelty Investigator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Associate Degree, 36%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Animal control officer vs animal cruelty investigator demographics

Here are the differences between animal control officers' and animal cruelty investigators' demographics:

	Animal Control Officer	Animal Cruelty Investigator
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 52.4% Female, 47.6%	Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 7.1% Asian, 1.0% White, 75.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4%	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 7.0% Asian, 1.0% White, 75.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4%
LGBT Percentage	25%	25%

Differences between animal control officer and animal cruelty investigator duties and responsibilities

Animal control officer example responsibilities.

Write citations pick up neglect and stray animals euthanize sick animals
Train and maintain a certify explosives detector K9.
Examine dog licenses for validity and issue warnings or summonses to delinquent owners.
Perform investigations, including gathering evidence, testifying in court, issuing and reviewing summonses and formal reports.
Field patrol including the collection and euthanasia of sick/unclaim animals.
Educate citizens in a professional and non-confrontational manner on responsible pet ownership.

Animal cruelty investigator example responsibilities.

Reserve police officer responsibilities motorize patrol, preliminary investigations, traffic control, general crowd control at events.
Send out monthly SIU newspaper.

Animal control officer vs animal cruelty investigator skills

Common animal control officer skills

PET, 13%
Patrol, 8%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 8%
County Ordinances, 7%
Wild Animals, 5%
Euthanize, 5%

Common animal cruelty investigator skills

Law Enforcement, 40%
Patrol, 33%
State Laws, 7%
Control Association, 5%
Crime Scenes, 5%
Incident Reports, 5%

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Animal Control Officer
Animal Control Officer vs Animal Cruelty Investigator

Updated January 8, 2025

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