Kenner, LA Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)
Key Facts
- Pledge deadline
- Spay/neuter within 20 days of adoption
- Refundable deposit
- $25.00 per animal
- Who must comply
- Anyone but individual owners, breeders, pet shops
- Adoption locations limited
- Shelter, owner's home, breeder, or pet shop
Summary
Kenner does not require every pet owner to sterilize their animal, but anyone other than an individual owner, licensed breeder, or pet shop who publicly offers a dog or cat for adoption must get the adopter's signed pledge to spay or neuter it within 20 days, backed by a refundable $25 deposit.
Sec. 4-5. - Public offering of animals for adoption. (a)Generally. No person other than individual owners or licensed breeders or pet shops may offer dogs or cats for adoption by the public without obtaining from the adopter a signed pledge that the animal will be sterilized by spaying or neutering within twenty (20) days, or as soon as it reaches an appropriate age. With the pledge, the adopter must make a cash deposit in the amount of twenty-five dollars ($25.00), refundable upon proof of sterilization.
Full Breakdown
City Code Sec. 4-5(a) governs the public offering of animals for adoption in the City of Kenner: no person other than individual owners, licensed breeders, or pet shops may offer dogs or cats for public adoption without first obtaining a signed pledge from the adopter that the animal will be spayed or neutered within twenty days, or as soon as it reaches an appropriate age. Alongside the pledge, the adopter must post a cash deposit of $25.00, which is refunded once the owner proves the animal was sterilized.
Subsection (b) further restricts where public adoptions may even happen, limiting them to a public animal shelter, a private humane-society shelter, the individual owner's residence, or the premises of a licensed breeder or pet shop. Subsection (c) separately bars any humane organization or person from offering an animal already declared fierce, dangerous, or vicious for adoption; such an animal surrendered to the city or the Jefferson Parish Animal Shelter must be euthanized or transferred to a qualified wildlife, zoological, or conservation entity under full disclosure of its history.
The department of code enforcement administers this article, and enforcement is layered on top of the general at-large and licensing rules found elsewhere in Chapter 4.
Violations & Fines
Because Sec. 4-5 does not print its own fine schedule, a violation of the pledge and deposit requirement, or of the adoption-location restriction, is punished under the citywide general penalty in Sec. 1-9: up to a $500 fine, up to 60 days in jail, up to 32 hours of community service, or a combination, with continuing violations counted day by day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Kenner require all dogs and cats to be spayed or neutered?
How long does an adopter have to spay or neuter the animal?
Where can dogs and cats legally be offered for public adoption in Kenner?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kenner
Compare Kenner to another location·View the Louisiana animal ordinances overview
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