Arvada, CO Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

Section 14-93 of the Arvada City Code singles out pot-bellied pigs for a mandatory sterilization and identification regime that applies to no other pet in the city. An owner or custodian must register a pot-bellied pig with the animal management office within 14 days of acquiring it, and registration is not complete until the owner has certified compliance with three linked requirements: castration of male pigs and spaying of female pigs before the pig turns four months old, tattooing before four months, and permanent wear of an identification tag. Proof that the sterilization and tattoo requirements were met must be on file with animal management before registration is considered complete. Outside the owner's or custodian's own home, every pot-bellied pig must wear a harness at all times; the harness rule is waived only indoors.

Separately, section 14-93(a) bans hogs, pigs, or swine generally as a nuisance, carving out pot-bellied pigs as the sole exception, and section 14-93(c) declares any pot-bellied pig over 70 pounds a nuisance in its own right, regardless of registration status. Animal management officers, designated peace officers under section 14-153, enforce the chapter and can issue summonses directly. No comparable spay or neuter mandate exists for dogs, cats, chickens, turkeys, or miniature goats anywhere in Chapter 14; the pig-specific rule stands alone because pot-bellied pigs are one of the few livestock species Arvada permits as household pets outside the RA and RN-32.5 agricultural zoning districts.