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

The Texas City Code of Ordinances puts spaying, neutering and microchipping in one place: the owner requirements for a vicious animal in § 95.029(H). Paragraph (H)(1)(f) says the vicious animal must be spayed or neutered and micro-chipped. It sits beside five other conditions in the same list, so the operation is a condition of keeping an animal that has already been declared vicious rather than a rule for every pet.

The clock is set by § 95.029(H)(1): the owner must comply within 30 days of the final determination, and the Environmental Crimes Officer or a designee decides whether compliance has been met. A declaration becomes final when the owner does not ask for a hearing in writing within ten calendar days, or after the hearing outcome. The other conditions in the list are registration of the animal, a locked enclosure with six secure sides including top and bottom, a certificate of public liability insurance in the amount of $100,000 for a 12-month period with the city named as certificate holder, a muzzle and a chain or cable leash of minimum tensile strength of 1,000 pounds and not to exceed six feet in length whenever the animal is outside the enclosure, and a warning sign visible from the public street or highway.

An owner who is unable or unwilling to meet these requirements does not get more time. Section 95.029(H)(2) provides that the animal shall be euthanized by an animal shelter, the animal control agency, a licensed veterinarian or the regulatory authority. When a vicious animal changes hands with approval, the new owner signs a sworn statement and must also comply within 30 days, so the sterilization and microchip condition follows the animal.