Killeen, TX Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

Code of Ordinances Sec. 6-63 makes sterilization the default rule for every dog and cat within Killeen's corporate limits, not just animals redeemed from the shelter. Owners must retain documentation proving the procedure was performed, and animal services can demand that proof during any investigation. The ordinance carves out five specific exemptions. An animal younger than six months is automatically exempt, as is any animal a licensed veterinarian certifies should not be sterilized for health reasons or that is already permanently non-fertile. Police and government rescue-work animals are exempt, as are animals being transferred to another shelter or rescue that has signed a written agreement to sterilize before adoption.

The fifth exemption is conditional: an animal impounded for the first time may keep its exemption if the owner holds a current breeder's permit or can document that the animal actively competes, or is preparing to compete, in a conformation dog show, along with proof of microchipping, current rabies vaccination and paid impoundment fees. That exemption does not survive a second at-large impoundment. If the same exempted animal is picked up running at large a second time, the exemption is revoked outright: the owner must either remove the animal from Killeen within ten calendar days and report its new address, or sign a contract to have it sterilized within 30 days, on pain of penalty and seizure. The rule ties directly into Killeen's broader sterilization requirements for shelter adoptions and redemptions under Sections 6-56 and 6-60.