Louisville Metro Code Chapter 91 requires that dogs and cats reclaimed from LMAS after running at large, or adopted from the shelter, be spayed or neutered unless the owner pays an unaltered-animal license and meets specific exemptions.
Animals adopted from LMAS leave the shelter already sterilized; if surgery is deferred for medical reasons, owners post a refundable deposit. Reclaimed strays must be sterilized within thirty days unless the owner holds a valid intact-animal permit, which requires higher annual fees, proof of secure containment, and disclosure of any prior at-large incidents. Breeders must obtain a separate kennel or hobby-breeder license under Chapter 91. The intact-animal differential pricing structure is intended to reduce shelter intake, which historically peaked above 20,000 animals per year before the 2003 metro consolidation.
Failure to comply triggers daily fines, revocation of the intact-animal permit, and possible seizure of the animal under Chapter 91; deposit forfeiture applies to unfulfilled adoption sterilization contracts.
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