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

Jupiter's Town Code does not impose a general mandatory spay-or-neuter requirement on dogs and cats; sterilization for dogs and cats is left to Palm Beach County's own licensing rules, referenced in section 5-35. The only mandatory sterilization rule written into the town's own code applies narrowly to pot-bellied pigs. Section 5-37 requires that every pot-bellied pig kept within Jupiter be either spayed or neutered, and if a male pig's tusks exceed two centimeters above the gingival line, the owner is out of compliance regardless of sterilization status.

To prove compliance, the owner must obtain a signed affidavit from a certified veterinarian confirming both the sterilization and tusk-length standards, and must produce that affidavit within 30 days of any inquiry from a code enforcement officer; failing to produce it on request is itself a basis for a violation, independent of the pig's actual condition. The section also caps a pot-bellied pig's size at 22 inches at the shoulder and 120 pounds, and confines the privilege to a single-family detached home: pot-bellied pigs are barred outright from duplexes and any multifamily unit.

Even where permitted, a pot-bellied pig must be kept inside the home for at least 16 hours a day. Because section 5-36 treats a qualifying pot-bellied pig as filling one of the five household-pet slots rather than adding to that count, a household already at its five-pet limit cannot add a pig without removing another animal. Violations are enforced through the code enforcement remedies of chapter 8 and the general civil penalty and lien authority in section 1-14.