St. Martin Parish, LA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

The restraint rule is Sec. 6-26 in Chapter 6 (Animal Codes) of the St. Martin Parish Code of Ordinances. Subsection (a) makes each owner and/or attendant responsible for keeping a domestic animal under restraint at all times, so it cannot escape from the property or person and cannot threaten, attack or bite any lawfully acting person or animal. Subsection (b) adds the off-property rule: leash, pet carrier or cage, or vehicle. Sec. 6-1 defines restraint as control that keeps the animal in or on the owner's or attendant's property, or on a securely fastened leash while off the property. Subsection (c) requires humane restraint during transport.

Four further rules sit in the same section. A female dog or cat in heat must be confined behind a solid barrier such as a wooden fence, inside the home, or in a veterinary hospital or animal establishment, and tethering cannot be her only restraint. Invisible fencing needs warning signs on all sides of the yard, and it is barred for animals in estrus, dangerous dogs, and animals that have unjustifiably threatened or bitten a human or another animal. Owners previously convicted of or pleading guilty to the restraint ordinance or similar state law cannot use invisible fencing except at the animal control manager's discretion. In any public park or playground in the parish, the animal needs a securely fastened leash and a firm grasp on it at all times, except in parks designated as dog parks.

Under Sec. 6-27, animal control officers seize any domestic animal found not restrained and off the owner's property, and impounded domestic animals are held for not less than five calendar days. Sec. 6-29(d) charges an impound fee of $5.00 per day, including partial days, on redemption. Under Sec. 6-21, the Sheriff's Office issues the citation at animal control's request, and the owner of an animal running at large has five days from the citation date to pay the impound fee at the shelter.