SHREVEPORT (AP) — Residents of a northwest Louisiana parish will have to spay or neuter their pet dogs and cats, starting next summer.
The Caddo Parish Commission voted 10-1 for the two-year ordinance Thursday night, and it will take effect July 1, news outlets reported.
Commissioner John-Paul Young proposed it as a way to reduce the number of strays and abandoned pets that wind up euthanized at the parish shelter, KTBS-TV reported.
“Caddo Parish Animal Services currently takes in between 4,000-5,000 animals each year,” parish animal services director Travis Clark told the council.
The spay-neuter ordinance has exemptions for show animals, those with breeding permits and pets with a veterinarian's statement saying the operation would hurt their health.
Dogs must be sterilized by the time they’re a year old while cats must be sterilized by six months.
District A Commissioner Todd Hopkins voted against the ordinance.
The parish will evaluate the ordinance's effects after two years. Unless reenacted as a permanent ordinance, it will expire June 30, 2024.
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