Minneapolis animal shelter to alter hours amid increased intake

The city of Minneapolis is updating its animal shelter hours as part of an effort to address a higher intake of animals.

Starting Aug. 24, Minneapolis Animal Care and Control (MACC) says its shelter will stay open until 7:30 p.m. every Thursday instead of its typical 1-5 p.m. weekday hours.

The added hours Thursday nights will replace once-a-month Saturday hours, the city says.

While the shelter will remain open until 7:30 p.m. every Thursday starting next week, adoptions on those days will stop at 7 p.m.

MACC says it has seen an animal intake increase of around 30% since 2019 and is on pace to beat 2022 intake levels by nearly 20%, which has been difficult for staff to keep up with.

The mayor’s budget proposal this week called for two additional animal care technicians to help support the increased animal intake.