Animal Ordinances in Shreveport, LA

Shreveport maintains 152 local ordinances across all categories, and 12 of those deal specifically with animal ordinances. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where Shreveport falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Microchipping

Shreveport Code § 14-49(5) requires every horse kept inside city limits to carry a permanent ID marker: a microchip, freeze band, or tattoo. Skipping it draws escalating fines, from $25 for a first offense up to $100 for a third, and forfeiture of the horse on a fourth.

Key details: Governing section: § 14-49(5). Accepted ID methods: Microchip, freeze band, or tattoo. First offense fine: $25.00. Fourth offense: Forfeiture of the horse. Companion rule: Annual negative Coggins test required.

Failing to permanently identify a horse under § 14-49(5)(a) draws a $25.00 fine for a first offense, $50.00 for a second, $100.00 for a third, and forfeiture of the animal on a fourth. Failing to produce a current negative Coggins test under subsection (4) triggers immediate impoundment of the horse rather than a graduated fine schedule.

Exotic Pets

Shreveport Code § 14-6 lists tigers, wolves, primates, venomous snakes, alligators and dozens of other wild or exotic species and bans keeping any of them as a pet, for display, or for sale. A grandfather clause protects only animals acquired before May 23, 1989; anything newer triggers a dual state and city citation.

Key details: Governing section: § 14-6. Grandfather cutoff: Acquired before May 23, 1989. Enforcing agency: Caddo Parish Animal Services. Dual violation: Also enforced under La. Title 56. General penalty: Up to $1,000 fine, 60 days jail.

Chapter 14's general penalty clause, § 14-3, punishes any violation not otherwise specified under § 1-14: up to a $1,000 fine, up to 60 days in jail, or both. Because § 14-6(h) makes exotic-pet violations dual violations, Caddo Parish Animal Services can cite the owner under the city code at the same time state wildlife agents pursue a Title 56 wildlife violation for the same animal.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Shreveport actively enforces its exotic pets requirements.

Cat Rules

Shreveport Code § 14-10 makes trap-neuter-return the city's preferred way to manage free-roaming cats. Once a community cat is sterilized, ear-tipped and vaccinated, a registered caregiver may feed and shelter it, and the cat is exempt from licensing, at-large and stray rules, though nuisance rules still apply.

Key details: Governing section: § 14-10. Preferred method: Trap-neuter-return (TNR). Marking required: Ear-tip, sterilization, rabies vaccine. Exempt from: Licensing, stray and at-large rules. Not exempt from: Nuisance provisions (§ 14-17).

Community cats themselves carry no license fee or citation risk once sterilized, ear-tipped and vaccinated under § 14-10(4). A caregiver who lets a colony become a nuisance, or a resident who traps a healthy community cat for any reason besides TNR, can still be cited under Chapter 14's general penalty, § 14-3, tied to § 1-14: up to a $1,000 fine or 60 days in jail.

Shreveport is more permissive than most cities when it comes to cat rules. That said, there are still limits.

Pet Limits

Shreveport Code § 14-16(4)(h) caps outdoor dogs at four per dwelling, with an exception for a litter of pups under five months old. Exceed the limit and an owner can apply for a noncommercial kennel permit, but the director can deny it if the extra dogs create a health, environmental, or nuisance problem.

Key details: Outdoor dog limit: Four per dwelling. Litter exception: Up to five months from birth. Indoor dog limit: None, unless a nuisance. Excess-dog permit: Noncommercial kennel permit from CPAS director. Appeal path: Animal services board, then parish commission.

Keeping more than four outdoor dogs without a noncommercial kennel permit is enforced through Chapter 14's general penalty, § 14-3, tied to § 1-14: up to a $1,000 fine or 60 days in jail. Separately, § 14-16(4)(d) sets its own fine for failing to provide a proper enclosure for outside animals: not less than $250.00 nor more than $500.00, or up to five days in jail.

Beekeeping

Shreveport's UDC lets residents keep bees as an accessory use, but only in the rear yard, 10 feet off the lot line and the house. Hives must be removable-frame, colonies need water on site, and aggressive bees must be re-queened right away. No building permit is required for the apiary itself.

Key details: Location: Rear yard only. Setback: 10 feet from lot line, building. Barrier trigger: Within 25 feet of lot line. Barrier height: 6 feet minimum. Building permit: Not required for apiary.

The Executive Director's zoning enforcement staff handles complaints about a hive placed too close to a lot line or without a flyway barrier through the standard zoning code-enforcement process, since Section 7.3.C is part of the Unified Development Code rather than the criminal code. A verified violation is treated as a zoning noncompliance: the property owner receives a notice to relocate the hive, add the required barrier, or re-queen an aggressive colony, with continued noncompliance escalating to the same citation and civil-penalty track used for other UDC accessory-structure violations.

Chickens & Livestock

Shreveport allows up to eight hens per lot in the R-A, R-E, R-1-12, R-1-10, and R-1-7 zoning districts. Roosters are prohibited, hogs are banned citywide, and hoofed livestock face spacing and headcount limits.

Key details: Maximum Hens: Eight per lot. Roosters: Prohibited. Allowed Districts: R-A, R-E, R-1-12, R-1-10, R-1-7. Coop Space: Five square feet per hen. Hogs and Pigs: Banned except miniature potbellied.

Zoning violations bring citations with each day a separate offense. Animal-chapter violations fall under section 1-14: a fine up to $1,000, imprisonment up to 60 days, or both.

Wildlife Feeding

Shreveport has no ordinance that bans feeding wild animals. Keeping wildlife as a pet is prohibited under section 14-6, and feeding that draws rats or creates odors is reached through the city's rodent-control and nuisance provisions.

Key details: Feeding Ban: No city ordinance. Wild Animals as Pets: Prohibited, section 14-6. Listed Species: Deer, coyotes, raccoons, squirrels, alligators. Enforcement Route: Rodent control and nuisance. State Agency: Wildlife and Fisheries.

Keeping a wild animal breaks section 14-6 and state wildlife law at once. Rodent harborage or a nuisance condition brings an abatement order, city cost recovery, and a lien against the property.

Shreveport is more permissive than most cities when it comes to wildlife feeding. That said, there are still limits.

Breed Restrictions

Shreveport's code has no breed-specific ban. Section 14-2 defines a 'vicious dog' by what it has done: an attack, a repeat at-large violation after a dangerous classification, or behavior showing it may not safely coexist with people, and closes with an explicit line that no dog shall be deemed vicious simply by its breed.

Key details: Governing definition: § 14-2 ('Vicious dog'). Breed rule: No dog is vicious 'simply by its breed'. Classification trigger: Behavior, not breed. Dangerous dog mandate: Microchip, sign, enclosure, leash/muzzle off-property. Vicious dog outcome: Impoundment, euthanasia absent timely appeal.

Because Shreveport doesn't regulate by breed, there's no breed-specific citation to violate. What triggers enforcement is the behavior described in § 14-2 and § 14-34: an attack, a repeat at-large violation after a dangerous classification, or conduct showing the dog can't safely coexist with people. A dog classified dangerous that isn't kept muzzled, enclosed, and registered as required can be seized by Caddo Parish Animal Services and forfeited.

The rules around breed restrictions in Shreveport lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

Mandatory Spay/Neuter

Shreveport does not require every pet spayed or neutered, but a second at-large impoundment does: Code of Ordinances Sec. 14-40(5)(c) forces sterilization and microchipping before the animal can be reclaimed, with reduced-fee surgery offered through Caddo Parish Animal Services.

Key details: Trigger: Second at-large impoundment. Requirement: Sterilization plus microchipping. First offense fee: $30 fixed / $40 unaltered. Third infraction fee: $120.00. Fourth+ infraction fee: $160.00.

Reclaiming a twice-impounded at-large animal without completing the required sterilization and microchipping is a violation of Sec. 14-40(5)(c); CPAS will not release the animal until both are done. General violations of chapter 14 are punishable under Sec. 1-14's penalty schedule, and fee amounts compound with each subsequent at-large infraction ($120.00 for a third, $160.00 for a fourth and beyond), separate from the mandatory surgery itself.

This is one of the stricter rules in Shreveport's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

Bird Protection

Shreveport bans molesting, trapping, shooting or killing any native song or insectivorous bird, or destroying its nest or eggs, under Code of Ordinances Sec. 14-51, with narrow carve-outs for state or federally permitted activity and licensed falconry.

Key details: Protected class: Native song and insectivorous birds. Also protected: Nests and eggs. Exemptions: State/federal permit holders, falconers. Adopted: Ord. No. 28, 2005, 9-27-05. Related rule: City parks are bird sanctuaries (§ 62-37).

Violating Sec. 14-51 is punishable under the general chapter 14 penalty provision, Sec. 14-3, which applies citywide to offenses under the animal control title; the section carries no built-in permit-fee schedule of its own, unlike the impoundment provisions elsewhere in the chapter. Enforcement runs through Caddo Parish Animal Services and city code enforcement rather than a dedicated wildlife unit.

Compared to other cities, Shreveport takes a harder line on bird protection. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

Pet Groomer Rules

Shreveport's UDC classifies pet grooming facilities as part of the broader 'Animal Care Facility' zoning use, alongside veterinary offices, boarding, and training. Under Section 6.1.B, any groomer with outdoor exercise areas must locate them in a side or rear yard, cover 30% of that space, and limit outdoor animal activity to 9:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m.

Key details: Use classification: Animal Care Facility (UDC § 5.3). Outdoor hours: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.. Exercise yard cover required: 30% minimum, weather shelter. Fence height: 6 to 7 feet. Permitted by right: C-2, C-3, C-4, I-MU, I-1.

A groomer that lets dogs outside before 9:00 a.m., after 6:00 p.m., or that skips the required 30% weather cover or six-to-seven-foot fence violates UDC Section 6.1.B and is enforced by the Zoning Administrator under Article 19; each day of noncompliance is a separate offense carrying the Code of Ordinances Section 1-14 penalty of up to $1,000.00 or 60 days imprisonment.

Dog Leash Laws

Shreveport Code § 14-36 bans letting a dog run at large on unenclosed land or trespass onto anyone else's property, enclosed or not. An at-large dog is subject to impoundment, and no one may hide or withhold a loose dog from an animal control officer.

Key details: Governing section: § 14-36. Prohibited conduct: Running at large or trespassing. Tagged/microchipped hold: 7 working days. Untagged stray hold: 4 working days minimum. Second at-large pickup: Spay/neuter and microchip required.

Running a dog at large has no stand-alone fine written into § 14-36 itself, so it's punished under Chapter 14's general penalty, § 14-3, tied to § 1-14: up to $1,000 and up to 60 days in jail. Beyond the citation, the dog itself can be impounded, held four to seven working days depending on whether it's tagged, and the owner must pay redemption and board fees under § 14-40 to get it back.

The Bottom Line

Shreveport's animal ordinances rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Shreveport is broadly strict or permissive.

All of the above reflects Shreveport's municipal code as of our last review. If you need specifics on fines, exemptions, or filing requirements, the detailed ordinance pages linked above have the full breakdown.