St. Tammany Parish considers a pet spay or neuter mandate | One Tammany

Following a passionate debate by a large crowd Thursday night, the St. Tammany Parish Council introduced an ordinance that would require pet owners to spay or neuter their cats or dogs — or possibly face fines.

Rob Bremer, director of St. Tammany’s Animal Services Department, said the spay or neuter ordinance was necessary to address St. Tammany’s pet overpopulation problem, while some critics of the proposal disputed the mandate’s effectiveness and others said it was “government overreach.”

The Animal Services Department, which has operated as a no-kill shelter since 2021, has the capacity for 120 dogs and 80 cats, but currently houses 168 dogs and 93 cats. It also has more than 200 animals currently in foster homes, according to Penny Brunies, assistant director of the shelter. 

Bremer said he hoped that with the ordinance, as more people learned about spaying and neutering, overpopulation would decrease and eventually the ordinance could be phased out. Orleans Parish also has a spay and neuter requirement. 

But Catherine Wilbert, director of Big Sky Cares, an animal rescue and care organization in Folsom, questioned whether such an ordinance would be effective. The ASPCA, like some other animal rescue organizations, says it is against spay and neuter requirements because it has not found them to be effective.

Wilbert and others also worried the spay or neuter requirement would disproportionately affect lower-income residents.

“The No. 1 reason pets are not spayed or neutered is because people cannot afford [it],” Wilbert said. She said the parish should instead invest more in its voucher program, which helps residents afford to spay or neuter their pets. 

“They’re absolutely right,” Bremer said about the voucher program. “We need more funding.”

But, he added, “I cannot take away from the operations of the shelter.”

The fines for failing to neuter or spay a cat or dog, which range from $150 to $300, depending on whether it is a first or second offense, would be used to help fund the voucher program.

That is “a little too punitive” for people who are already struggling, said David Kassin, the executive director of the St. Tammany Animal Resource Team, an animal rescue organization. Kassin said there were other ways to incentivize spaying or neutering. 

There was also some confusion about enforcement.

“I’m not the spay or neuter police,” said Rebecca Bohm, a veterinarian worried about what she was supposed to do if someone came in with an intact pet. According to the proposed ordinance, St. Tammany Animal Services enforces the ordinance if it picks up a dog or cat in violation of another ordinance related to animals, such as leash laws or animal cruelty laws. 

The ordinance, as introduced by the council on Thursday, will likely be tweaked in the coming weeks, council members said, ahead of a vote in December.

“Why do we put an ordinance in for introduction? In order to create the dialogue that’s thankfully occurring now,” said Council member Jeff Corbin.

Bremer agreed. “Maybe ‘mandatory’ was what was needed to start opening this conversation up.”