Wallingford Animal Control Warns of Impostor

Pictured above are Wallingford’s four Animal Control Officers

WALLINGFORD, CT — Wallingford Animal Control is warning residents that a person may be posing as an animal control officer and a Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator.

The animal control was notified late Friday afternoon that a Wallingford resident may be posing as an officer, according to a Facebook post.

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The proper authorities are being notified, but animal control officers want residents to be aware of who they allow onto their property and inside their home.

Read more of the message from the Wallingford Animal Control posted on Facebook Friday night:

In order to be licensed with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection as a Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator, one must take classes and pass a test BY LAW. This training helps to ensure the safety of the operator and the homeowner, the humane handling of the animal, and also proper disease control. One cannot just go around trapping animals and calling themselves "Wildlife Control" without this license.

NWCOs also need to be insured for their protection and yours. A NWCO should have a license or license number and proof of insurance on them, and you can ask them for that information. They should also have an Employer Identification Number through the IRS in order to identify themselves as a legitimate business and be able to charge you for their services. Here is a list of NWCOs who are indeed licensed by the state of Connecticut. If someone is not on this list, they ARE NOT a NWCO and it IS NOT legal for them to be trapping wildlife on your property!

http://www.ct.gov/…/deep/wildlife/pdf_files/nwco/nwcodir.pdf

An Animal Control Officer must also be trained and certified. We encourage you to come get to know the four of us. We are pictured here. If someone arrives at your home claiming to be a Wallingford ACO but isn't one of the four of us, that person isn't a Wallingford ACO. If you didn't contact us directly through our office or through the Wallingford Police Department, the person showing up isn't a Wallingford ACO.

If we don't arrive in the Animal Control van or another marked town vehicle, the person showing up isn't a Wallingford ACO. We have badge numbers. Feel free to ask for them and to call the Wallingford Police Department to confirm that we are indeed legitimate ACOs. Also, WE DO NOT CHARGE FOR OUR SERVICES. If someone comes to your home claiming to be an ACO but asks you for payment, that person is most definitely not an ACO.

If you believe this impersonator has been to your home, please let us know!

Contact the Wallingford Animal Control at (203) 294-2180