St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, is seeking to mandate the spay/neuter of all dogs at its Thursday, December 5, 2024, Parish Council meeting. The American Kennel Club (AKC) encourages all St. Tammany residents to review the information below and to contact Parish Councilmembers to share concerns about the proposal.
IMPACT
Ordinance Calendar Number 7740AA requires all dogs to be spayed/neutered. However, it also includes important, broad exceptions from the requirement, by:
- Exempting dogs 52 weeks of age and younger from the spay/neuter requirement.
- Allowing for any pet owner to obtain a no-fee intact waiver from the Animal Services Department if the owner presents proof of the animal’s current rabies vaccination, an animal license from the parish, and proof that the animal is microchipped.
Additionally, any dog impounded by the Animal Services Department that is involved in certain offenses will be required to be spayed/neutered. The extensive list of offenses includes: Aggravated animal cruelty, dogfighting, the injuring/killing of a police animal, or cockfighting; Animals at large or leashing law; Licensing, registration, vaccination, and tag requirements; Simple animal cruelty and minimum care requirements; Rabies control and attack (bite) cases; Dangerous animals; and Vicious animals.
For first time offenses, the owner of any intact dog impounded by the Animal Services Department may pay a $150 fine in lieu of the spay/neuter requirement if the animal has already received an intact waiver. If it hasn’t already received an intact waiver, the owner must pay a fine of $250 in lieu of the spay/neuter requirement. For a second offense, the intact dog’s intact permit will be revoked and spayed/neutered prior to release, and its owner must pay a $300 fine. All fines collected will be used to pay the expenses of the parish’s spay/neuter voucher program.
AKC’S VIEW OF THE ST. TAMMANY PARISH PROPOSAL
AKC appreciates that the ordinance demonstrates a more-balanced approach to addressing shelter population issues in the Parish, especially in comparison to other jurisdictions that attempt to scapegoat responsible purebred dog breeders for shelter populations issues without substantiation. AKC also commends St. Tammany Animal Services for continuing to provide the public with shelter statistics, with available monthly data dating back to 2021, which helps provide a true overview of the sources of shelter intakes.
While previous drafts provided only narrow exceptions that would have required extensive Parish resources to administer and manage, the latest version of the spay/neuter ordinance allows for any owner to obtain an intact waiver for their dog if they have a current rabies vaccination and a license from the parish, and are microchipped.
In addition, while the vast majority of mandatory spay/neuter ordinances seek to charge owners high fees to get a breeding or litter permit, the St. Tammany proposal ensures that intact waivers will be available to residents at no cost. This ensures fairness for all residents, regardless of socioeconomic classification or ability to pay.
AKC’s Board-Approved Canine Legislation Position Statement on Breeding Regulations and Restrictions demonstrates our support for reasonable and enforceable laws that protect the welfare and health of dogs and do not restrict the rights of breeders and owners who meet their responsibilities; but we oppose the concepts of breeding permits, breeding bans, or the mandatory spay/neuter of purebred dogs.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
St. Tammany residents are encouraged to review the proposed spay/neuter ordinance and to contact the members of the Parish Council with concerns.
To contact all Parish Council members, call (985) 898-2591 or email councilmembers@stpgov.org.
Individual councilmembers may be reached as follows:
Dist. 1 – Councilman Rick Smith: (985) 259-1900, rsmith@stpgov.org
Dist. 2 – Councilman Larry Rolling: (985) 590-1120, lrolling@stpgov.org
Dist. 3 – Councilwoman Martha Cazaubon: (985) 630-5353, mjcazaubon@stpgov.org
Dist. 4 – Councilwoman Kathy Seiden: (985) 898-2591, kseiden@stpgov.org
Dist. 5 – Councilman Pat Phillips: (985) 898-2591, pphillips@stpgov.org
Dist. 6 – Councilwoman Cheryl Tanner: (985) 892-1186, ctanner@stpgov.org
Dist. 7 – Councilman Joe Impastato (Ordinance Sponsor): (985) 290-2989, jimpastato@stpgov.org
Dist. 8 – Councilman Pat Burke: (985) 898-2591, pburke@stpgov.org
Dist. 9 – Councilman David Cougle: (985) 898-2591, dcouple@stpgov.org
Dist. 10 – Councilwoman Maureen “Mo” O’Brien: (985) 807-3778, mobrien@stpgov.org
Dist. 11 – Councilman Arthur Laughlin: (985) 898-2591, alaughlin@stpgov.org
Dist. 12 – Councilman Jerry Binder: (985) 898-2591, jbinder@stpgov.org
Dist. 13 – Councilman Jeff Corbin (Ordinance Sponsor) : (985) 898-2591, jcorbin@stpgov.org
Dist. 14 – Councilman Jimmy Strickland: (985) 774-6029, jstrickland@stpgov.org
St. Tammany residents are also encouraged to provide in-person comments at the Thursday, December 5, 2024, public hearing on the spay/neuter ordinance. The meeting will be held in the Council chambers at the Parish Government Complex, 21490 Koop Drive (off Hwy. 59), Mandeville, Louisiana 70471. The meeting is expected to begin at 6PM.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact AKC Government Relations at doglaw@akc.org.