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Pet Laws in Louisiana: Parades & Festivals

This guide is about pets and their owners, but not about livestock or wildlife.

Leave them home

band marching along a streetFestivals and parades often have large boisterous crowds. Many municipalities have ordinances which prohibit bringing animals anywhere near these events, unless they are specifically part of the event. So horses with riders are allowed in parades, and dogs are allowed in Barkus, but those are exceptions.

Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish

Sec. 12:610. - Animals prohibited at festivals.

(a)Except as hereinafter provided for, it shall be unlawful for any person to bring any domestic or exotic animal, including Canis familiaris (dogs), into the festival area set forth below during any festival as defined below.

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Sec. 12:611. - Penalties, impoundment.

Any unpermitted animal found within the festival area during a festival is hereby declared a "nuisance" within the definition provided in section 14:110 and shall be impounded by animal control officers. Any person bringing any animal or the owner of any animal impounded within any festival area shall be issued a summons by police officers or by animal control officers and shall, upon conviction for violation of section 12:610 and this section 12:611, be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) and not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) as the court may determine.

(Ord. No. 9283, § 1, 5-8-91)

New Orleans

Sec. 18-14. - Cats and dogs to be confined, exceptions.

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(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section allowing otherwise, no dogs other than dogs in parades in which dogs are the main attraction or sole participants, dogs confined on the property of their owners, dogs assigned to law enforcement canine units, seeing-eye dogs and/or dogs assisting physically challenged individuals, are allowed within 200 yards of any parade route one hour before, during, or one hour after a scheduled parade.

Shreveport

Sec. 78-114. - Animals prohibited.

(a)No person shall permit any animal owned or possessed by him to be within 200 yards of a parade route not less than two hours before the published scheduled start of a parade, or within 200 yards of the actual end of a parade for not less than one hour after the actual end of the parade measured from each continuing area of parade termination.

(b)This section shall not apply to owners of residences along the parade route who have pets secured in their homes or yards.

(c)This section shall not apply to the use of a service animal by an individual with a disability. For purposes of this section, "service animal" means any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items.

(Ord. No. 2, 2002, 1-22-02; Ord. No. 17, 2002, 3-12-02)