Norfolk, VA Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

When the health exception applies, Sec. 1-86(a) requires the adopter to sign a sterilization agreement at the time of adoption promising to have the animal sterilized through the releasing agency or a licensed veterinarian within thirty days. The adopter must also deposit with the shelter a fee equal to what it would cost the agency to sterilize the animal; that deposit is refunded once a licensed veterinarian confirms in writing that the sterilization was performed. Sec. 1-87 spells out what the signed agreement itself must contain: the date, the names and signatures of both the releasing agency and the new owner, a description of the animal, the sterilization deadline, and bold-print language warning that sterilization is mandatory and that noncompliance carries a criminal penalty.

Sec. 1-88 then requires the new owner to deliver or mail written veterinary confirmation of the sterilization to the animal control officer within seven days of the procedure. If the adopted animal is lost, stolen, or dies before it is sterilized, Sec. 1-89 requires the owner to notify the animal control officer within seven days of that event. Sec. 1-90 exempts an owner reclaiming their own animal from the city's animal management center, and animals transferred to a federal agency, a state-supported institution, or another state's agency. Sec. 1-86(c) also lets the animal control officer petition the general district court to compel compliance, in addition to any criminal penalty.