Spalding County, GA Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

Spalding County's sterilization mandate, effective March 1, 2016, applies chapter-wide to unincorporated areas: County Code Section 12-1016(c) requires any dog or cat six months of age or older to be surgically sterilized unless the owner qualifies for one of eight listed exemptions. Those exemptions cover nonresidents staying in the county sixty days or less within a twelve-month period; licensed humane societies and rescue organizations that instead follow Georgia Department of Agriculture and Georgia Animal Protection Act sterilization rules; veterinary hospitals; owners of registered service or working police dogs; owners of active or retired competitive show dogs and cats registered with the AKC, UKC, ADBA or CFA who meet documented competition or breeding-standard criteria; animals a licensed veterinarian certifies are medically unfit for surgery; and persons licensed as breeders by the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

Owners who want to keep an intact animal outside these narrow exemptions must separately apply to Spalding County Animal Control for an unaltered animal permit under Section 12-1007, which requires proof of current rabies vaccination and payment of a fee set by the board of commissioners; the resulting certificate must be available for inspection and its tag kept on the animal's collar. Violations of the sterilization mandate are misdemeanors enforced by the Spalding County Animal Control Department under Section 12-1017, with each continuing day of noncompliance treated as a separate offense and fines set by the court. The rule reaches anyone owning, keeping, harboring, or having custody of a covered dog or cat, not just titled owners.