Clovis, CA Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

Municipal Code § 6.1.515 imposes a citywide mandatory spay/neuter rule reaching both shelter adoptions and private ownership. Subsection (a) bars the Animal Shelter from making any dog or cat available for adoption unless it is already spayed or neutered under California Food and Agricultural Code §§ 30503 and 31751.3. Subsection (b) extends the mandate to every owner: no person may own a dog or cat over four months old that has not been altered, unless the owner produces written proof of one of five exemptions, a registered show or competition animal actively competing within the last two years, a trained guide, signal, or service dog, a dog trained for law enforcement or military use, a veterinarian's letter certifying that surgery should be delayed or is medically unsafe (which requires a deposit set in the City's Master Administrative Fee Schedule), or an animal registered for breeding under § 6.1.516.

Subsection (c) requires every unaltered dog or cat to be implanted with a microchip identifying the owner, and bars transferring an unaltered dog's license or issuing one to anyone under 18. Subsection (d) softens enforcement for first offenders: violators get a 60-day notice to comply before the City issues a citation or opens an enforcement action. The requirement became operative October 1, 2009, and any dog that already held a valid City license on that date was grandfathered until the license expired or October 1, 2010, whichever came first, per subsection (e). Owners who redeem an impounded unaltered animal must also post the spay/neuter deposit under § 6.1.408(a)(3) before reclaiming it.