New Orleans pursues hoarding situations through Ch. 4 cruelty provisions and Louisiana Revised Statutes, with the LA-SPCA, NOPD, and Health Department coordinating seizure, sheltering, and prosecution of severe cases.
Ch. 4 incorporates Louisiana cruelty law (LA RS 14:102.1) and authorizes officers to seize animals kept in unsanitary, overcrowded, or neglectful conditions typical of hoarding. The LA-SPCA holds primary cruelty-investigation authority under contract. Health Department referrals may follow when human living conditions also pose risk. Courts may order forfeiture, mandatory mental-health evaluation, restitution for sheltering costs, and bans on owning animals for a period set by the judge. Aggravated cruelty under LA RS 14:102.1(B) is a felony.
Misdemeanor cruelty carries fines up to one thousand dollars and jail under LA RS 14:102.1; aggravated cruelty is a felony with prison and forfeiture of all animals.
New Orleans, LA
New Orleans Ch. 4 requires cats over four months to wear current rabies tags and prohibits any cat from running at large or causing nuisance on neighboring p...
New Orleans, LA
New Orleans Ch. 4 requires sterilization of intact cats and dogs reclaimed from the LA-SPCA shelter and of animals adopted from any city-contracted facility ...
See how New Orleans's animal hoarding rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.