Animal Ordinances in Terrebonne Parish, LA (2026)
10 rules for unincorporated Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Terrebonne Parish bans letting a horse, mule, hog, pig, sheep, goat, ox, cow or other livestock run loose anywhere in the parish. Parish Code § 5-76 makes the owner or keeper responsible, and any animal caught running at large is impounded by parish police under § 5-77 and can be redeemed within five days for $5 per animal per day.
Terrebonne Parish Livestock At-Large Ban
Some RestrictionsTerrebonne Parish Code §§ 5-76, 5-77
It shall be unlawful for the owner, keeper or person in charge of any horse, mule, hog, pig, sheep, goat, ox, cow or other livestock to permit such livestock to run at large. ... Any livestock found running at large in violation of this article shall be taken up and impounded by the police of the parish.
Dog Leash Laws
In Terrebonne Parish, every dog, cat and other domestic animal must stay under restraint at all times, on a leash, in a carrier or in a vehicle whenever off the owner's property. Parish Code § 5-9 sets escalating fines from $40 up to $500 with possible jail time, and requires leashes in every parish park except designated dog parks.
Terrebonne Parish Leash and Restraint Law
Some RestrictionsTerrebonne Parish Code § 5-9
(a)Each owner and/or attendant shall keep his domestic animal under restraint at all times to prevent the escape from his property or person and shall prevent his animal from threatening, attacking, and/or biting any lawfully acting person or animal.(b)When off the property of the owner or attendant, every domestic animal must be securely fastened to a leash, in a pet carrier/cage, or in a vehi...
Breed Restrictions
Terrebonne Parish does not ban dogs by breed; instead it declares a dog dangerous or vicious case by case based on behavior. Parish Code §§ 5-30 and 5-45 require a dangerous dog to be muzzled and leashed off the owner's property and confined behind a locked pen or a six-foot privacy fence with warning signs at home.
Terrebonne Parish Dangerous Dog Rules
Significant RestrictionsTerrebonne Parish Code §§ 5-30, 5-45
(4)Declared dangerous by the parish administrative hearing panel as authorized in this article, because the dog behaves in any of the following manners:a.Any dog which, when unprovoked, engages in any behavior that requires a defensive action by any person to prevent bodily injury when the person and the dog are off the property of the owner of the dog; orb.Any dog which, when unprovoked, bites...
Exotic Pets
Terrebonne Parish bars anyone from owning, possessing, selling or keeping an exotic or wild animal unless a parish ordinance, or federal or state law, expressly permits it. Parish Code § 5-14 places the burden on the owner to show strict compliance with an applicable permitting law before keeping any such animal within parish limits.
Terrebonne Parish Exotic and Wild Animal Ban
Heavy RestrictionsTerrebonne Parish Code § 5-14
No person shall own, possess, sell, or keep an exotic animal or a wild animal within the parish except in strict compliance with any parish ordinance or federal or state law providing for the same.
Pet Limits
Terrebonne Parish caps commercial dog breeders and sellers at 20 unspayed/unneutered dogs over six months old at any time, and requires a kennel license once anyone keeps five or more dogs, or breeds or sells dogs, on the property.
Dog Kennel/Breeder Limits in Terrebonne Parish
Some RestrictionsTerrebonne Parish Code § 5-7(d), (e), (h)
(d)The owner of five (5) or more dogs may procure a kennel license and pay a kennel license fee in lieu of the individual dog licenses and license fees provided for herein. In every case where all animals on the property are spayed/neutered, a sixty (60) percent discount on the applicable kennel license fee shall be applied.(e)Any person with five (5) or more dogs on his property and who breeds...
Cat Rules
Terrebonne Parish exempts community cats from licensing, stray and at-large rules and applies no stray-hold period so they can be trapped, neutered and returned. Ear-tipped cats are recognized as sterilized and rabies-vaccinated; caregivers may redeem them free of charge.
Community Cat & TNR Rules in Terrebonne Parish
Some RestrictionsTerrebonne Parish Code §§ 5-1, 5-7(a), 5-10(c)
Community cat means any free roaming cat that may be cared for by one (1) or more residents of the immediate area who is/are known or unknown; a community cat may or may not be feral. Community cats that are ear tipped are sterilized and have received at least one (1) vaccination against rabies. Community cats are exempt from any licensing, stray, abandonment and at-large provisions directed to...
Mandatory Spay/Neuter
Terrebonne Parish does not require every pet to be altered, but an impounded dog or cat that is not already spayed or neutered must be fixed before redemption under Parish Code § 5-12(d), unless the owner requests a hearing to contest it. Every animal adopted from the shelter must also be spayed or neutered under § 5-13(d).
Terrebonne Parish Impound Spay/Neuter Rule
Some RestrictionsTerrebonne Parish Code §§ 5-12(d), 5-13(d)
(d)If an impounded animal is not spayed/neutered at the time of redemption and is within the legal stray hold, the owner shall either: 1) elect to have the redeemed animal spayed or neutered at the owner's expense for a fee of fifty dollars ($50.00); or 2) apply for a hearing with the administrative panel within five (5) days of receiving notice of impoundment to show cause as to why the redeem...
Microchipping
Terrebonne Parish requires every owned dog and cat over three months old to carry an implanted microchip. Parish Code § 5-25 makes registering the chip number with animal control and the national registry mandatory, and a dog or cat cannot be licensed under § 5-7 until it is microchipped.
Terrebonne Parish Dog and Cat Microchip Rule
Some RestrictionsTerrebonne Parish Code § 5-25
All owned dogs and cats over the age of three (3) months must be implanted with an identifying microchip. The owner or attendant is required to register the microchip number to the animal control division and the national registry applicable to the implanted chip. The owner or attendant shall notify the animal control division and the national registry applicable to the implanted chip of any ch...
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Terrebonne Parish classifies small-animal veterinary clinics as 'animal sales and services (limited),' a use permitted by right in C-2 General Commercial Districts. Veterinary care for livestock or large animals falls under the separate 'general' classification, allowed by right only in I-1 Light Industrial Districts, not in any commercial or residential zone.
Terrebonne Parish Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Some RestrictionsTerrebonne Parish Code §§ 28-1, 28-48(b), 28-49(a)
Animal sales and services (limited): Retail sales, veterinary services, outdoor kennels, grooming, and boarding when totally within a building, of dogs, cats, birds, fish, and similar small animals customarily used as household pets. Typical uses include pet stores, small animal clinics, dog bathing and clipping salons, and pet grooming shops but excluding outdoor kennels and uses for livestock...
Bird Protection
Terrebonne Parish has designated the entire former City of Houma corporate limits, plus four named subdivisions, as bird sanctuaries where trapping, hunting, shooting or molesting any bird or wildfowl, or robbing bird nests, is unlawful, subject to a nuisance-bird exception decided by the parish president and council.
Bird Sanctuary Protections in Terrebonne Parish
Some RestrictionsTerrebonne Parish Code § 5-60
(a)The entire area embraced within the corporate limits of the city is hereby designated as a bird sanctuary.(b)It shall be unlawful for any person to trap, hunt, shoot or attempt to shoot or molest in any manner any bird or wildfowl or to rob bird nests or wildfowl nests; provided, however, if starlings or similar birds are found to be congregating in such numbers in a particular locality that...
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