Animals on Campus Policy

Custodian of Policy: VP Finance & Administration

Effective Date: Current

Last Review: Spring 2025

Next Review: Spring 2032

Policy

It is the policy of Minnesota State University Moorhead to provide a safe environment for all students, employees, visitors, and guests by establishing and enforcing regulations for animals on campus. This policy, and any related procedures, apply to all areas and all members of the campus community, as well as all individuals using the campus grounds or buildings, including leased properties.

Definitions

Animal means every living creature except members of the human race. Pets, Dangerous Animals, Service Animals, and Emotional Support Animals – all defined below – are subsets of Animals.

Pet includes any animal owned, possessed by, cared for, or controlled by a person for the present or future enjoyment of that person or another as a pet.

Dangerous Animal is one potentially jeopardizing to the health and welfare of humans by reason of its size, ferocious nature, breeding, carrier of human disease or parasites, and/or possession of venom. Certain dogs are not de facto dangerous animals by reason of their breed unless they have a history of attacking or causing bodily harm to other pets or people.

Service Animals are defined as dogs – or, in rare cases, a miniature horse – that are specially trained to perform specific tasks for a person with a disability. Emotional Support Animals are defined as any animal that senses an event or helps alleviate symptoms of a disability.

Procedures

  1. Dangerous Animals are prohibited from the MSUM campus.
  2. No person shall bring an Animal onto the university campus unless:
    • The Animal meets the definition of Pet above;
    • The Animal is secured to a leash no more than six (6) feet in length and in the hand of a person at all times or the Animal is secured or confined in a vehicle or container so as to prevent reaching beyond the exterior limits of the vehicle or container. Any vehicle or container, which does not enclose the Animal on all sides, does not meet the requirements of this policy.
    • No person shall tie, tether, or secure any Animal, whether attended or unattended, licensed or unlicensed, to any object other than within a vehicle or container that complies with this policy; at any time, on the MSUM campus.
    • The Animal, when required, displays a current license.
    • The Animal's behavior, e.g., barking, is not counterproductive or disruptive to the mission of the university.
    • The Animal’s keeper properly collects and disposes of the Animal's fecal waste in a proper receptacle.
  3. No person shall harbor, maintain, or sustain any Animal in any vehicle or non-instructional area of the MSUM campus. Animals are strictly prohibited within any building other than to comply with The American with Disabilities Act or educational purposes.
  4. Any entity on campus that wishes to use Animals for research, teaching, and/ or display must submit and have a protocol approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee for such animal use. (Contact current chairperson as listed on MSUM Academic Affairs website)
  5. The university or subordinate organizations may contract with outside organizations to bring non-Dangerous Animals on campus for therapeutic purposes.

Exemptions

  1. This policy does not apply to Service Animals.
  2. Animals, including Dangerous Animals, used exclusively for university related educational purposes are exempt from this policy provided that the sponsoring department assumes the responsibility for their housing, maintenance, and supervision under the codes already established for and adopted by that sponsoring department.
  3. Certain exemptions may apply to the occupants of residence halls with regards to Emotional Support Animals. Consult Accessibility Resources for additional information.
  4. Housing and Residence Life professional staff who live on campus may receive permission to house a pet. Those employees shall consult with Housing and Residence Life for further information about this exception.

Enforcement

Violations of this policy should be reported to Public Safety, 477-2449. Disciplinary actions may be taken.