This 40-hour course is required for anyone appointed to serve as a humane officer in Wisconsin. Humane officers must complete the training within one year of being appointed. It is also open to anyone who is interested. Law enforcement officers may apply the training to their 24-hour recertification training requirement.
Who Should Attend
All humane officers appointed within the past year and not yet certified must attend. Law enforcement officers responsible for investigating animal cruelty complaints should attend. Anyone will want to attend who is interested in learning a systematic approach to animal cruelty investigations and/or becoming a humane officer.
Course Content
| Body conditioning and scoring Pet shop investigations
Photography and sketching
Crime scene procedure and collection of evidence
Interview and interrogation
Report writing
Courtroom testimony
Crisis intervention/officer safety
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Instructors
Instructors are veterinarians, attorneys, and law officers with years of experience in investigating animal cases. You will also receive hands-on experience in the barns at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Fees & Certification
Updated July 21, 2026
Course: $575 payable to the University of Missouri with your registration form. The course fee includes all materials and class time. It does not include meals, lodging, and testing or certification fees.
There is a $25 examination fee. Participants are required to pay the $25 examination fee prior to the first day of training. You can electronically pre-pay by visiting the Veterinary Supply Catalogue website: select “other," then choose the “Humane Officer Testing Fees," enter the desired quantity, click next, and follow the prompts to pay. The testing fee is separate and not part of the registration fee.
After successfully completing the course and passing the written examination, you will be eligible for certification by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection as a humane officer. The certification fee is $35 and is paid after the course completion. All costs may be subject to change.
Please note: The $25 examination fee and the $35 certification fee are two separate fees and must be paid separately.
Lodging
Dates: September 21-25, 2026
Time: 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Registration Deadline: September 15, 2026
Training Program Flyer
Law Enforcement Training Institute
The Law Enforcement Training Institute, affiliated with the University of Missouri-Columbia, has been providing state-of-the-art professional training to criminal justice practitioners since the 1940s. In 1979, the Institute became one of the original State Certified Law Enforcement Training Academies in Missouri. Since that time, the Institute has taken a leadership role in providing basic and advanced certified academies to law enforcement officers and continuing professional education programs to a wide, multi-disciplinary spectrum of the criminal justice system.
