Highlands County, FL Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

5-42 of the Highlands County Code set the terms for getting an impounded dog or cat back. If a legally constituted humane society, animal rescue organization or other responsible individual redeems a dog or cat that the original owner did not reclaim within five calendar days, that animal must be surgically spayed or neutered and fitted with an RFID microchip before it leaves the Highlands County Animal Control shelter, and those procedures must be paid for before they are performed. An owner reclaiming a pet is not required to sterilize it the first time, but every animal an owner redeems, first time or not, must receive an RFID microchip before release.

If the same owner redeems the same dog or cat more than once in any rolling 12-month period, that repeat redemption triggers the sterilization requirement even for the owner. 5-43, must also be paid before release. 5-41 are held only three calendar days rather than five before a rescue or responsible individual may claim them, and the same sterilization-on-redemption rule applies to feral cats claimed by anyone other than the record owner.