Miami Animal Police
Miami Animal Police is an American documentary reality television series that premiered on January 5, 2004 on Animal Planet. Produced by Lion Television, the program is set in Miami, Florida and the surrounding Miami-Dade County, an area of more than 2,000 square miles (5,000 km2). It depicts the everyday duties of Miami-Dade Police Department Animal Services Unit, focusing on the work of twenty ACOs (animal control officers), five civilian animal cruelty investigators, six Miami-Dade Police Department administrators, and a pitbull investigator.
| Miami Animal Police | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality Documentary Crime Mystery |
| Narrated by | Rick Pasqualone |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Miami, Florida |
| Camera setup | Multiple |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company | Lion Television |
| Distributor | Discovery Communications |
| Release | |
| Original network | Animal Planet |
| Original release | January 5 – April 9, 2004 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The show also highlights the work of various private companies that remove wild animals from places they shouldn't be, including escaped exotic pets which can pose a hazard to native wildlife and/or local residents if left unchecked. The most frequently featured of these private contractors is Todd Hardwick of Pesky Critters Wildlife Control.
Kevin Hefner directs the show, which is the fourth of Animal Planet's top-rated shows and is part of an "umbrella rotation" of shows known collectively as "Animal Planet Heroes".
Comparisons to Animal Cops: Miami
The Miami-Dade Animal Services Department is currently the only agency in the Animal Planet Heroes rotation that has been featured in two different shows. Animal Cops: Miami, which premiered in 2010, also focuses on Miami-Dade Amimal Services. While many of the on air staff were involved in both shows, there are several fundamental differences. For example, two television series are produced by different production companies (Animal Cops: Miami is produced by Anglia Television, which produced the majority of the shows in the Animal Planet Heroes rotation. Miami Animal Police was produced by Lion Television). In addition, Animal Cops: Miami includes segments focusing on the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department's Venom One unit. The main difference, however, is that production of Animal Cops: Miami occurred after the unit's 2005 separation from the Miami-Dade Police Department to become a stand-alone county department.