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

Taylor has no blanket law forcing every dog or cat owner in the city to have their pet spayed or neutered; chapter 4 of the Code of Ordinances instead uses two targeted tools. First, § 4-64(a) governs adoptions from the city's own impoundment facility: an animal offered for adoption must already be spayed or neutered and classified as adoptable, but if the animal is under six months of age when adopted, the adopting owner is required to sign a binding agreement to have it spayed or neutered once it reaches six months old.

The animal control officer can refuse to place an animal with an adopter believed to lack proper facilities, to want the pet for resale, or to be likely to abandon or mistreat it, under § 4-64(b), and the adopter pays all costs of adoption including the eventual sterilization. Second, the city builds a financial incentive into the annual license fee under Appendix B, Fee Schedule for City Services, Sec. 00, five times as much. Miniature swine face a related but separate rule: § 4-7(b)(4)f requires the health certificate an owner files after the swine's annual vaccination to include certification that the animal has been either spayed or neutered.

None of these provisions is enforced as a standalone spay/neuter citation; the adoption agreement is a signed contract enforceable like any other city adoption term, and the fee differential is collected at registration under § 4-42.