Maplewood Township renewed its contract for one year with Bloomfield Township for animal control services, effective July 1, 2023, Maplewood Health Officer Candice Davenport told the Township Committee at the monthly Board of Health meeting on Wednesday.
In January, the TC approved a six-month contract with Bloomfield. South Orange in December also contracted with Bloomfield on a short-term basis for animal control services.
St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Shelter announced last October that it would no longer provide animal control services to Maplewood, South Orange, and 17 other New Jersey municipalities. The news sent both towns scrambling to provide services.
In December, Maplewood Mayor Dean Dafis announced that the township would secure short-term shared services with South Orange while continuing to look for something more permanent, and that Bloomfield was at the time the front-runner to provide those services.
South Orange hired Animal Control Solutions in March as its new animal control provider.
According to the Bloomfield Animal Shelter, in May, Bloomfield responded to 21 animal control calls in Maplewood, 10 of which pertained to domestic animals and another 11 to sick or injured wildlife. In April, the shelter said, it responded to 18 animal control calls in Maplewood, and in March, it responded to 16 calls in Maplewood.