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

Sec. 012 of the Code of Ordinances requires that all unaltered dogs and cats over four months of age kept, harbored or maintained within the city limits be spayed or neutered, or that the owner obtain a breeder's permit under chapter 3 instead. The breeder's permit route runs $100 per year per unaltered animal under sec. 001 and can be denied or pulled if the applicant is in violation of city or state animal-care law. Sec. 013 lists six exceptions to the alteration mandate: animals under four months; breeders with a current permit and a veterinarian's health statement verifying a microchip number; animals a licensed veterinarian certifies should not be altered for health reasons or that are already nonfertile; competition and show animals with documentation of that activity; service animals for law enforcement, rescue or disability work; and animals transferred to another shelter or qualified rescue organization that agrees in writing to follow state and local law.

Every altered or exempted animal over four months must also carry a microchip under sec. 014, giving animal services a direct enforcement tool tied to the spay/neuter mandate. The rule sits inside the same chapter that requires annual registration and rabies vaccination, so an owner redeeming an impounded unaltered animal must also resolve the alteration status before the animal is released under sec. 004.