Jefferson Parish, LA Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

Jefferson Parish's animal code layers two separate mandatory-sterilization requirements onto pet owners. Under Sec. 7-30(b)(3), the very first time any animal is impounded by the Jefferson Protection and Animal Welfare Services, the Director can order it spayed or neutered before release, and the owner must pay all veterinary costs for the surgery. This sits on top of the escalating redemption fees the same section sets for repeat impoundments within a 24-month window: $200 for a second impoundment, $300 for a third, and $500 for a fourth or later, with dangerous animals paying $300 and $500 for their second and third impoundments respectively.

Separately, Sec. 7-17 requires anyone who offers a dog or cat for public adoption to get the adopter's signed pledge that the animal will be sterilized within 20 days, or as soon as it reaches an appropriate age, backed by a cash deposit set under Sec. 7-30(c) that is refunded only once the adopter shows proof of the surgery. That adoption-pledge rule does not apply to individual owners or breeders already licensed under the same article. The parish funds a companion low-cost and no-cost spay/neuter program from these same fee schedules: Sec.

7-31(a)(2) dedicates $13 of every altered animal's vaccination fee and $18 of every unaltered animal's vaccination fee, plus $900 from each breeder or dealer/dealer-breeder permit, to run low-cost sterilization and vaccination clinics and a responsible-pet-ownership education program parishwide.