Muncie, IN Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

Section 90.09 opens by declaring it "the announced policy of the common council to encourage the adoption of dogs and cats and in conjunction therewith spaying or neutering these animals," then narrows to a hard requirement for the shelter's own adoptions: every animal must be spayed or neutered before it leaves the animal care and services department. To make that workable for very young animals, § 90.09(A) has the director maintain and update every January a list of veterinarians willing to perform the surgeries, and § 90.09(B) has the department pay a fixed schedule toward early-age spay/neuter of puppies and kittens: $45.00 for a female puppy or kitten and $30.00 for a male of either species.

Section 90.09(B)(4) directs 80 percent of every adoption fee into the department's spay/neuter account to fund this program, with any January 31 surplus reverting to the general fund and the remaining 20 percent handled under the interlocal agreement between the city and Delaware County. Section 90.09(C) requires the director to give adopters all paperwork the participating veterinarian recommends, and § 90.09(D) requires an annual January report to the common council on adoption income, direct spay/neuter expenses, and whether the program should continue. Because the mandate is written into the adoption transaction rather than as a standalone pet-ownership rule, a Muncie resident who already owns an unaltered dog or cat acquired outside the shelter is not independently compelled by § 90.09 to have it altered.