Bonita Springs, FL Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Sec. 8-21 of the Bonita Springs Code is an identification mandate, not a microchip mandate. All dogs, cats and ferrets must have some form of identification indicating the owner's name and current telephone number at all times. The section lists three examples that qualify: a commercially available tag imprinted with the information and attached to the collar or harness; a current, valid county license and rabies tag attached to the collar or harness; or an implanted microchip identification device registered to the owner with a current name, address and telephone number. A microchip alone therefore satisfies Sec. 8-21, and a tag alone does too.

Sec. 8-21(b) makes it unlawful to remove the collar or tag of an animal to prevent or falsify identification, and cats are expressly not exempt. At a recognized breed show the owner keeps the license tag or rabies certificates and produces them on demand to verify the required license and vaccination.

Microchips carry weight elsewhere in Chapter 8. Sec. 8-20(b)(2) exempts a cat or ferret with a microchip registered to the owner from attaching the license tag. Sec. 8-25(a) holds an impounded stray with a valid license and/or microchip for five consecutive days, and Sec. 8-25(h) requires every dog, cat and ferret to be microchipped, registered to the pet owner, before release from the domestic animal services shelter. An animal declared dangerous must be electronically implanted before release under Sec. 8-15(d)(3), and the owner must update the national registry when it is sold or given away under Sec. 8-15(e). Guard dogs are microchipped at registration under Sec. 8-28(d), and community cats in a colony are microchipped under Sec. 8-9(d)(3). The license fee is set by the board of county commissioners by resolution under Sec. 8-22.