Miami-Dade County Code Chapter 5 requires that all dogs and cats adopted from Animal Services be sterilized before release, and unsterilized pets must carry an annual unaltered-animal license through the Animal Services Department.
Under Chapter 5 of the Miami-Dade Code, adopted dogs and cats leaving the Animal Services shelter must be spayed or neutered before they go home. Owners keeping intact pets in unincorporated Miami-Dade or participating municipalities must purchase an annual unaltered-animal license, which costs significantly more than the altered-pet tag. Animal Services runs low-cost sterilization clinics for qualifying residents to ease compliance. Breeders must register separately. Repeat possession of unlicensed unaltered animals can lead to mandatory sterilization orders and civil penalties through the Code Enforcement process.
Owners who fail to license intact pets or skip required sterilization face civil citations starting around $100, escalating fines for repeat offenses, and possible mandatory sterilization court orders.
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See how Miami-Dade County's mandatory spay/neuter rules stack up against other locations.
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