Upper Bern Township Residents,
The Animal Rescue League of Berks County has been selected as your municipality’s Animal Control provider for 2025. As the county’s largest and busiest shelter with a dedicated Animal Control Team, the ARL is uniquely positioned to handle the management of stray domesticated animals found within contracted municipalities, as well as providing a resource for handling dangerous, rabid, injured, or ill domesticated animals; help with dog bite cases; timely police assistance; and proven methods to address the outdoor community cats to control the population. We’re pleased to offer each municipality in Berks County the opportunity to contract with us on a yearly basis to offer professional animal control services and animal-holding services to its residents.
As part of the contract with Upper Bern Township, the ARL will provide the following:
- Animal-holding services for stray domestic animals regardless of behavior, medical or capacity status. No extra charges for veterinary care or condition of the animal. Limited, emergency-only transportation available for aggressive or severely injured domestic animals. We pursue contact of owner.
- Community access to reduced-price microchips, vaccines, or spay/neuter clinics. ARL pursuit of animal-related grants to expand these services and offer them at low cost or free to eligible municipal residents.
- Comprehensive and targeted spay/neuter, vaccination and microchipping programming to control and reduce the free-roaming community cat population. Outcomes can include adoption or Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).
- Access to an ARL representative during business hours for community members regarding humane law, animal control and non-cruelty concerns. The ARL unburdens local police departments and municipal township answering services from these calls and offers your residents access to a representative during business hours, 7 days a week. When the call volume is high, please be sure to leave a message.
- Enforce Dog Law with Pennsylvania State Certified Humane Law Officers, including dogs at large, dog bites, dog licenses, and cat/dog vaccinations.
- Support state health department with investigation/confirmation of dog/cat bites/scratches; and implementation, compliance, and completion of home/shelter quarantines.
- Priority access to owners who wish to surrender their pets ($50 fee charged directly to the owner.)
- Pickup of rabid, seriously injured, diseased, or dangerous domestic animals. Testing of rabid domestic animals.
- Support local and state police, county sheriffs, and constables with search warrants.
- Removal and transport of animals following evictions or involved in accidents.
- (Eligible) Transport and animal-holding services for stray domestic cats and dogs regardless of behavior, medical or capacity status.
To learn more about the Animal Control Services provided by the ARL, please visit https://berksarl.org/animal-control-service-areas. To request a service, please contact 610-373-8830 ext. 205 or email pethelp@berksarl.org.
In addition to the Animal Control Services, ARL’s Department of Animal Protection provides animal cruelty and humane investigation to companion and farm animals throughout Berks County. If you or someone you know witnesses or suspect an animal is being abused or neglected, contact the ARL immediately at 610-373-8830 ext. 400 or submit a complaint at https://berksarl.org/animal-cruelty-and-humane-investigation.