Chesapeake, VA Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

Chesapeake's sterilization mandate is narrow and triggered by a court finding, not a blanket ownership rule. Sec. 10-45 lets the City proceed against an owner in general district court when a domestic, companion, wild, or exotic animal is suspected of being a public nuisance, defined to include habitually running at large, molesting passersby, chasing vehicles, attacking other animals, or trespassing and damaging property. If the court finds an unspayed or unneutered dog or cat caused the habitual-running-at-large violation specifically, the judge may order the owner to have the animal surgically sterilized within 60 days of conviction, in addition to whatever confinement, euthanasia, removal, or other abatement order the court issues.

The owner must then deliver proof of the surgery to the Animal Services Unit within seven days of the procedure. Ignoring the sterilization order is its own class 1 misdemeanor, separate from the misdemeanor for the underlying nuisance violation. A second, tighter mandate applies once a dog is judicially declared dangerous. Sec. 00 in liability insurance or an equivalent surety bond. Practically, that means an intact dangerous dog cannot legally remain registered, and an unregistered dangerous dog is subject to disposal under Va. 2-6562.