Jackson, TN Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

Under Jackson Municipal Code § 10-105, no person may own, harbor, or keep a dog or cat over six months old that has not been spayed or neutered, unless the owner pays an annual unaltered-animal fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) per animal, collected by the Jackson Animal Care Center. The city lists nine exemptions from the underlying spay/neuter mandate, covering law-enforcement and search-and-rescue dogs, trained service and therapy dogs, dogs used for herding, livestock guarding, or hunting, animals with a veterinarian-certified health exemption, dogs or cats boarded for professional training or resale, animals registered with a recognized breed or show registry, animals held by a shelter or rescue that requires spay/neuter before adoption, and any owner who has obtained the city's annual unaltered-animal permit.

An owner has thirty days from the animal's sixth-month birthday, or thirty days from acquiring an older animal, to either have it altered or obtain the unaltered permit, and must notify the city in writing within thirty days of any change of ownership. Section 10-106 lists acceptable proof of compliance: an AVMA-standard spay incision mark, a veterinarian's written statement, a current rabies certificate noting the animal is altered, or a visual inspection by the enforcement officer. Section 10-107 makes the requirement enforceable by any law enforcement, animal control, or code enforcement officer, sets a maximum fine of fifty dollars ($50.00) per day per violation, and allows the city to seek injunctive relief in environmental court.

Under § 10-108, half of the fees collected fund the Health and Sanitation Department's animal control officers, and the other half funds a low-cost spay/neuter program run through a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that must report annually to the city on its use of the money.