Riverside County Ordinance 630.10 requires all dogs and cats over four months in unincorporated areas to be spayed or neutered unless the owner holds a valid intact-animal permit from RCDAS.
Riverside County adopted one of California's earliest mandatory spay-neuter laws under Ordinance 630.10. Dogs and cats over four months must be sterilized, with limited exemptions for licensed breeders, show animals registered with AKC or CFA, working livestock guardians, and medically exempt pets. Intact-animal permits cost more annually than altered licenses and require veterinary justification. Violations after a 30-day cure period result in escalating fines. The ordinance aims to reduce the roughly 30,000 animals processed annually through county shelters.
First-time intact-pet owners receive a 30-day notice to comply. Continued non-compliance triggers fines starting at $100 and rising to $500 per animal per offense.
See how Palm Springs's mandatory spay/neuter rules stack up against other locations.
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