Incidents responded to by the Baton Rouge Animal Control and Rescue Center (ACRC).

ACRC is responsible for carrying out duties related to animal-related situations, including: administering the anti-rabies vaccination, licensing, and tag program; investigating animal cruelty incidents; investigating dog fighting; resolving dangerous animal situations; rescuing injured animals; investigating abandoned animal cases; investigating occult, animal sacrifice, and bestiality cases; resolving stray animal situations; enforcing the leash law and owned animal problems; assisting law enforcement with narcotics, evictions, and DWI cases; enforcing barking dog cases; inspecting dog yards/pens; chaining or tethering compliance; assisting animal welfare groups with feral interventions; and conducting educational programs.

As many of the incidents included within this data set involve active cases that are currently under investigation and computerized system limitations do not allow for automated screening of open/closed cases, the identity of animal owners is redacted to protect the privacy of the animal owner. Members of the public interested in the identity of a specific incident may contact ACRC directly to inquire about the incident and, if it is closed, ACRC will release a copy of the file to the person requesting it. However, location data regarding where the incident was reported or occurred is included within this data set, which may or may not be the same location as the animal owner's home or property.

In addition, to protect the identity of the complainant (person filing the complaint or alerting ACRC to a potential incident), only the complainant's street name is included as part of this data set.

Finally, while all incidents are updated on a daily basis, incidents involving animal cruelty are updated based on a rolling 30-day delay to allow for ACRC to investigate the incident and make a determination as to the validity of the cruelty complaint.