Fort Worth City Code Chapter 6 requires dogs and cats over six months old to be spayed or neutered unless the owner obtains an annual intact-animal permit from Animal Care and Control. The rule aims to reduce shelter intake and euthanasia citywide.
Fort Worth adopted mandatory spay-neuter under Chapter 6 to address shelter overcrowding and stray reproduction. Dogs and cats over six months must be sterilized unless the owner secures an intact-animal permit. Permits require owner attestation, proof of breed-club registration, working-dog status, or veterinary documentation that anesthesia poses health risks, plus secure containment and current rabies vaccination. Permits renew yearly with inspection rights. Service animals and dogs under six months are exempt. Animal Care and Control partners with North Texas low-cost spay-neuter clinics, the SPCA of Texas, and Spay Neuter Network to provide subsidized surgery for income-qualified residents in Tarrant County.
Owning an unsterilized cat or dog over six months without an intact permit triggers Class C misdemeanor citations and fines up to two thousand dollars per animal. Repeat offenses or breeding without a permit can lead to forfeiture.
Fort Worth, TX
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See how Fort Worth's mandatory spay/neuter rules stack up against other locations.
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