Announcements

Happy September and welcome back to our township newsletter! This month we will hear from Joe Bungart, our supervisor in charge of animal control within our township.

---

Animals.

From wild creatures and livestock to domesticated pets, they are all part of our daily lives here in Turtle River Township. Our township, like many around us, does not have the financial means or necessity for a full-time animal control officer or facility. So we share that cost with other area townships. This allows us to use a centralized facility near Bagley, known as the Bemidji Rural Animal Control Association (BRACO) and a full-time animal control officer who deals with animals that need to be boarded or otherwise serviced. There is only one animal control officer (Keith Christenson, 218-760-6651) to service all of these nearby participating townships. While we have not frequently required Keith’s services, we do occasionally need to have an animal picked up.

On our website, we have available for your use the current ordinances  governing animals within the township. It recognizes some basic requirements for pet ownership, most of which I believe the vast majority of our pet owners already comply with. Having their rabies vaccinations up-to-date and having the tag with the pet is #1. It also spells out what to expect in case you are involved with an animal complaint.

While reviewing the ordinance, you may notice that Animal Control does not deal with cats. Domestic cats are technically considered an invasive species and are handled accordingly by the township. In these cases, there are local animal shelters that can be called to take stray cats.

Gopher bounties are still being paid by the township at $2 per tail. You can bring in your tails to any township monthly meeting (held the second Thursday of each month at 7:00pm), or give me a call or email to arrange a receipt for the bounties: turtleriversup3@gmail.com. I'd be happy to help you out.

Joe Bungart

Turtle River Township Supervisor

‍