--- title: "4 State Spay/Neuter Programs NC Should Copy" description: "New Hampshire's shelter euthanasia fell 77% after it funded spay/neuter with a dog license fee. Texas put $13M on the table. See the state programs NC should be copying, and why we are not." url: https://ncpetproject.org/states-that-got-it-right/ --- ![Stylized US Southeast map highlighting New Hampshire, Florida, Texas and Delaware with sunlit dog and cat icons while North Carolina is visibly muted in grey, symbolizing states that fund spay and neuter programs](https://ncpetproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/states-that-got-it-right-cover-1.webp) [Guides](https://ncpetproject.org/blog/) [Policy & Advocacy](https://ncpetproject.org/category/policy-advocacy/) # States That Got It Right: 4 Spay/Neuter Programs NC Should Be Copying New Hampshire's shelter euthanasia fell 77% after it funded spay/neuter with a dog license fee. Texas put $13M on the table. See the state programs NC should be copying, and why we are not. By [Jake St. Peter](https://ncpetproject.org/about/#jake-st-peter) Updated November 12, 2026 10 min read - - - - On this page 1. [Why Does State Funding Matter More Than You Think?](#why-does-state-funding-matter-more-than-you-think) 2. [How Does New Hampshire’s Spay/Neuter Program Work?](#how-does-new-hampshire-s-spay-neuter-program-work) 3. [How Does Florida’s License Plate Program Fund Spay/Neuter?](#how-does-florida-s-license-plate-program-fund-spay-neuter) 4. [What Did Texas Just Do That No Other State Has?](#what-did-texas-just-do-that-no-other-state-has) 5. [How Does Delaware’s Dedicated Spay/Neuter Fund Work?](#how-does-delaware-s-dedicated-spay-neuter-fund-work) 6. [How Does North Carolina Actually Compare?](#how-does-north-carolina-actually-compare) 7. [What Should NC Copy From These States (And What Would It Cost)?](#what-should-nc-copy-from-these-states-and-what-would-it-cost) [Sign the petition Ask lawmakers for real spay/neuter funding. Takes 30 seconds.](https://ncpetproject.org/sign-the-petition/) [Email your legislators We find your House member and senator. You send the letter.](https://ncpetproject.org/email-your-legislators/) Find low-cost spay/neuter Form fields: Your ZIP code. Submit it on the web page. New Hampshire’s publicly funded spay/neuter program altered 34,265 animals between 1994 and 2002. Over the same years, shelter euthanasia in the state fell 77%, to 2.2 per 1,000 residents, the lowest rate in the nation at the time ([ASPCA Pro](https://www.aspcapro.org/sites/default/files/new-hampshire-spayneuter.pdf), 2007). That’s not just a moral argument. It’s a results argument. And it’s one of four state-level funding models that have worked, while North Carolina leans on one specialty plate and a small appropriation. NC’s reporting public shelters euthanized 39,202 dogs and cats in 2025, a 26.0% rate ([NC DACS](https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/veterinary/aws/Fix/reports)) and more than three times the national rate of 8% ([ASPCA](https://www.aspca.org/helping-people-pets/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics), citing Shelter Animals Count). Meanwhile, Texas appropriated $13 million in 2025 for a brand-new state pilot program. New Hampshire funded its program in 1994. Delaware built a dedicated state fund. Florida’s specialty plate has been grant-making for years. So what are they doing that NC isn’t? And what would it actually take to catch up? > **TL;DR:** Four states have built sustainable spay/neuter funding. New Hampshire’s dog license fee ($2 at launch, $1.75 today) paid for a program that coincided with a 77% drop in shelter euthanasia in its first eight years ([ASPCA Pro](https://www.aspcapro.org/sites/default/files/new-hampshire-spayneuter.pdf)). Florida’s “Animal Friend” plate distributed more than $756,000 to 34 organizations in 2025. Texas appropriated $13M in 2025. Delaware routes $35 per plate into a dedicated state fund. NC relies on one specialty plate plus a $250,000 appropriation, and it shows. [Sign the petition](https://ncpetproject.org/take-action/) demanding NC catch up. ## Why Does State Funding Matter More Than You Think? Researchers writing in [Frontiers in Veterinary Science](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1558235/full) in 2025 called the high level of spay-neuter achieved over the past five decades “the most significant factor in reducing pet overpopulation.” That progress is real. But it stalls wherever low-income pet owners can’t access the surgery. That’s the problem NC has right now. Spay/neuter services exist in urban counties. They’re scarce in rural ones. Families on Medicaid or SNAP often can’t afford the roughly $426 an NC vet charges on average for a dog spay, and the [closest low-cost clinic](https://ncpetproject.org/get-help/) might be an hour away. Without a statewide funding mechanism, the safety net has holes you can drive a truck through. County-by-county voucher patchworks (which is what NC has today) can’t close those gaps. Counties with strong nonprofit ecosystems, think Wake, Mecklenburg, Durham, already run decent programs. Rural counties with no local clinic and no budget to build one are left out. The only level of government that can fix that unevenness is the state. And every state profiled below figured that out years ago. There are four working models: license-fee surcharges, specialty-plate grant programs, direct legislative appropriations, and dedicated state funds. NC uses a small version of the third: a $250,000 appropriation on top of plate revenue. Here’s how the others actually do it. ![A volunteer holds a calm gray tabby cat after surgery at a community spay and neuter day event with other volunteers preparing recovery cages under white pop-up tents in a parking lot at golden hour](https://ncpetproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/community-cats-spay-day.webp) ## How Does New Hampshire’s Spay/Neuter Program Work? New Hampshire funds its state spay/neuter program through a fee on every dog license sold in the state. It began in 1994 as a $2 surcharge, with $1.50 going to the state fund ([ASPCA Pro](https://www.aspcapro.org/sites/default/files/new-hampshire-spayneuter.pdf)); today it is a $1.75 “companion animal population control fee” per license ([RSA 466:4](https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlv/466/466-4.htm)). The revenue flows into a dedicated fund that subsidizes sterilization for pets owned by low-income families. The legislation was championed by a Concord attorney named Peter Marsh, whose legislative push began in 1991 and ended with the bill’s passage in 1994 ([ASPCA Pro](https://www.aspcapro.org/sites/default/files/new-hampshire-spayneuter.pdf)). NH pet owners receiving Medicaid, food stamps, or one of five other public assistance programs can get a voucher. The copay started at $15 and was raised to $25 in 2005 to keep up with surgery costs. That’s it. Low admin burden, no annual appropriation fight, predictable revenue every year. The outcomes back up the approach. As of 2009, NH had an 83% statewide live release rate and a shelter death rate of just 1.9 per 1,000 residents ([Best Friends Animal Society](https://bestfriends.org/stories/julie-castle-blog/new-hampshire-leading-light-no-kill), 2011), and in 2021 Best Friends recognized New Hampshire as a no-kill state, based on 2020 data. Advocates credit much of that to the license-fee program and its focus on the highest-risk pet population. Here’s the part NC lawmakers should pay attention to: this is a fiscally conservative policy. It isn’t a new tax. It’s a small fee on a license pet owners already buy, and it aims to pay for itself by reducing the number of animals local governments have to intake, house, and euthanize. When the bill was debated in the NH legislature, that’s the argument that moved it. Animal welfare was the why. Cost savings was the how. ## How Does Florida’s License Plate Program Fund Spay/Neuter? Florida’s “Animal Friend” specialty license plate routes $25 from every plate sold or renewed into a grant pool. Those grants, up to $25,000 per organization, fund free and low-cost spay/neuter services at municipal shelters and nonprofits across the state ([Florida Animal Friend](https://floridaanimalfriend.org/grants/)). In 2019, the program disbursed $588,650 to 32 grant recipients ([PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/florida-animal-friend-disburses-588-650-to-32-grant-recipients-to-help-fund-free-and-low-cost-spay-and-neuter-services-statewide-300909806.html)), and in 2025 it distributed more than $756,000 across 34 organizations ([UF Shelter Medicine](https://sheltermedicine.vetmed.ufl.edu/2025/10/16/license-to-save-lives)). The structural advantage of the plate model is that revenue scales with goodwill, not politics. When Floridians who love animals renew their plates, the fund grows. There’s no appropriation fight, no budget line item to protect, no risk that a new governor zeroes it out. In 2017 alone, the program moved more than $516,000 into grassroots spay/neuter programs ([PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/florida-animal-friend-disburses-more-than-516000-to-28-grant-recipients-for-free-and-low-cost-spay-and-neuter-services-statewide-300510580.html)). FLAspay.com, the program’s lookup, lists the Florida counties that have low-cost clinics or programs ([FLAspay.com](https://flaspay.com/)). That kind of statewide map is hard to build without a dedicated funding source behind it. NC doesn’t have anything close. Chart: Horizontal bar chart of Florida Animal Friend spay and neuter grants by year: 2017, 516,000 dollars to 28 recipients; 2019, 588,650 dollars to 32; 2021, 617,645 dollars to 30; 2023, 779,590 dollars to 38; 2025, more than 756,000 dollars to 34. Grants topped $750,000 in both 2023 and 2025. Sources: Florida Animal Friend grant announcements via PR Newswire (2017, 2019, 2021); [WOKV](https://www.wokv.com/news/local/florida-animal-friends-gifts-779590-38-animal-organizations-across-state/IFNSNCUHOFDVRHINWLJ6M27H44/) (2023); [UF Shelter Medicine](https://sheltermedicine.vetmed.ufl.edu/2025/10/16/license-to-save-lives) (2025) ## What Did Texas Just Do That No Other State Has? On January 23, 2026, the Texas Department of State Health Services began accepting applications for the Texas Spay and Neuter Pilot Program, backed by $13 million appropriated under Rider 32 of the state budget bill over the 2026–2027 biennium ([Texas DSHS](https://www.dshs.texas.gov/spay-neuter)). Demand was so high that DSHS closed applications on February 24, 2026, about a month after they opened ([Texas DSHS](https://www.dshs.texas.gov/spay-neuter)). The program awards tiered contracts to clinics, shelters, and nonprofit organizations serving underserved urban and rural areas across the state. Eligible organizations compete through an open enrollment process, with awards made on a first-come, first-serve basis. The tiering matters. A rural county with a single nonprofit clinic can receive a right-sized grant. A major metro with a high-volume clinic can receive a larger one. One formula, one funding pool, broad geographic reach. This is the direct-appropriation model in its purest form. No license plate dependency. No dog-license surcharge. Legislators looked at the scale of Texas’s pet overpopulation problem and put state general-revenue dollars against it. It’s the most politically ambitious of the four models, and also the newest. That’s important: Texas appropriated the money in 2025 and opened applications in January 2026. Other states are watching. The window for NC to match it, before this becomes the new baseline expectation, is open right now. The policy lesson from Texas is that state spay/neuter funding isn’t a red-state-versus-blue-state issue. Texas isn’t famous for progressive animal welfare legislation. But $13 million for a program that reduces shelter costs and saves taxpayer money passed on fiscal merits. The same math works in NC. ## How Does Delaware’s Dedicated Spay/Neuter Fund Work? Delaware sells an animal welfare license plate that feeds its State Spay Neuter Fund: of the one-time $50 plate fee, $35 goes into the fund ([State of Delaware News](https://news.delaware.gov/2025/05/21/new-animal-welfare-license-plate-helps-protect-animals-in-need/), May 2025). The fund also receives a $3 surcharge on each rabies shot given to Delaware cats and dogs and annual pet food registration fees, and the state’s Department of Health and Social Services administers the program ([Delaware Code](https://delcode.delaware.gov/title16/c030f/sc02/index.html)). The money goes to community cat colony sterilization, neighborhood “spay days,” and supplemental support to Delaware shelters. ![A black Labrador leans out of a parked station wagon's window on a quiet coastal small-town street lined with cottages.](https://ncpetproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/states-that-got-it-right-coastal-street-lab.webp) What makes the Delaware model distinctive is its structural protection: this is a dedicated, nonlapsing state fund set up in statute. The money is reserved for the spay/neuter program and its administration, and unspent money carries over each year. NC shares that feature: its Spay/Neuter Account is also a dedicated, nonreverting account ([G.S. 19A-62](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_19A/GS_19A-62.html)). The difference is size, not walls. Delaware also proves something about diversified funding. Instead of leaning on one source, it stacks a plate, a small fee on rabies shots, and pet food fees into one fund. Good spay/neuter policy compounds. Every year of delay is a year of avoidable euthanasia, avoidable shelter cost, and avoidable taxpayer burden. Maryland funds its statewide spay/neuter grants through a pet food registration fee instead, which had paid out $9,827,838 to 355 projects as of December 2025 ([Maryland Department of Agriculture](https://mda.maryland.gov/spay_neuter_program/pages/default.aspx)). Virginia sends $15 of each $25 animal-friendly plate fee, after the first 1,000 registrations, into a state Dog and Cat Sterilization Fund that pays it each year to the locality where the plate is registered, for local sterilization programs ([Va. Code 46.2-749.2:7](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter7/section46.2-749.2:7/)). Both are variations on the same idea. NC has a state structure, but a small one. ## How Does North Carolina Actually Compare? North Carolina’s state spay/neuter program is funded by $20 from each “I Care” Animal Lovers plate plus a state appropriation, held in a dedicated, nonreverting Spay/Neuter Account ([G.S. 19A-62](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_19A/GS_19A-62.html)). Cities and counties can apply for reimbursement of direct costs for spays and neuters performed on low-income residents’ pets ([NC Department of Agriculture](https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/veterinary/aws/fix)). There’s no dog-license fee. In calendar year 2025 the state transferred $250,000.00 in appropriated funds and $122,228.33 in plate revenue into the account, so the appropriation was about two thirds of the money, as our breakdown of the [“I Care” spay/neuter license plate](https://ncpetproject.org/nc-spay-neuter-license-plate/) sets out in detail. The structural problems with NC’s model stack up fast. A reimbursement-only program requires counties to front the cost of surgery before getting paid back. Small rural counties, exactly the ones with the worst overpopulation problems, often don’t have that working capital. And because the appropriation has stayed small, [the fund can’t keep up](https://ncpetproject.org/nc-spay-neuter-funding/): in 2025 the program paid $250,954 against $659,626 in eligible county requests, about 38 cents on the dollar ([NC DACS](https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/veterinary/aws/Fix/reports)). | Item | New Hampshire | Florida | Texas | Delaware | North Carolina | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Funding source | $1.75 dog license fee ($2 at launch) | $25 per plate sale | $13M state appropriation | $35 per plate, plus rabies-shot and pet food fees | $20 per plate sale plus a small appropriation | | Dedicated state fund? | Yes | No (plate fees go to a nonprofit grant pool) | No (two-year budget rider) | Yes (dedicated) | Yes (nonreverting), reimbursement only | | Program year launched | 1994 | 2004 (plate law) | 2025 (funds), 2026 (grants) | 2006 (fund), 2025 (plate) | 2000 | | Track record | Euthanasia down 77% (1994 to 2002) | $756,000+ in grants (2025) | Too new | Three revenue streams | 37 cents per $1 requested (2025) | The people the current model misses are easy to picture: a rural address, a pet owner on a fixed income, a closest clinic that’s 45 minutes away. The current state funding model was not designed to serve them. It cannot scale to reach them. That’s not a criticism of the people running it. It’s a structural limit. You cannot close a statewide gap with one specialty plate and a $250,000 appropriation. For the full breakdown of NC’s shelter data, see our post on [North Carolina’s pet overpopulation crisis](https://ncpetproject.org/nc-pet-overpopulation-crisis/). And the connection to unregulated breeding, which pours more unwanted animals into the same shelter system, is covered in [our piece on puppy mills in NC](https://ncpetproject.org/puppy-mills-nc/). ## What Should NC Copy From These States (And What Would It Cost)? The simplest fix is a hybrid. Add a small fee like New Hampshire’s $1.75 to something pet owners already pay for (NC has no statewide dog license, so this would ride on rabies shots or local licenses, as Delaware does). Grow the state appropriation into the existing nonreverting Spay/Neuter Account. Keep the “I Care” plate as a supplemental revenue source. Together, those three changes would turn a voluntary, capped program into something that can actually cover the state. The math is simple. In 2025 the whole program took in $372,228 and paid counties $250,954, against $659,626 in eligible requests. Closing that one-year gap alone would have taken about $409,000 more. That is a small number for a state budget. The objection will be predictable: “We can’t afford a new program.” The data says the opposite. Spay/neuter funding isn’t a cost. It’s cost avoidance. Every sterilization reduces future shelter intake. Every litter prevented is one fewer set of puppies flowing into a county system that’s already over capacity. This is the conservative fiscal case, not the compassionate one, and it’s the case NH used to pass its program in 1994. ![A North Carolina woman at her kitchen table types an email to her state representative on a laptop, with a rescue dog resting beside her in warm natural light streaming through a window](https://ncpetproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/advocacy-action-nc.webp) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How are most state spay/neuter programs funded? Three mechanisms dominate: specialty license plates (FL, DE, VA, NC), dog license fees (NH), and direct legislative appropriations (TX’s $13M pilot, funded in 2025 with grants opening in January 2026). Maryland adds a fourth: a pet food registration fee. Each has trade-offs. Plates depend on consumer demand. Fees depend on existing licenses or products. Appropriations depend on political will. NH’s license-fee model has the longest documented track record ([ASPCA Pro](https://www.aspcapro.org/sites/default/files/new-hampshire-spayneuter.pdf)). ### Does North Carolina have a state spay/neuter program? Yes, but it’s small and reimbursement-based. Cities and counties can apply for reimbursement of direct spay/neuter costs for low-income residents, funded by $20 from every “I Care” Animal Lovers specialty license plate plus a state appropriation ($250,000 in 2025), held in a dedicated, nonreverting account ([NC Department of Agriculture](https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/veterinary/aws/fix)). There’s no dog license fee, and the appropriation is small: in 2025 the program paid about 37 cents on the dollar of what counties requested. ### Which state has the best spay/neuter program outcomes? New Hampshire has the longest track record. From 1994 to 2002 its program altered 34,265 animals while shelter euthanasia fell 77%, to 2.2 per 1,000 residents, the lowest rate in the nation as of 2007 ([ASPCA Pro](https://www.aspcapro.org/sites/default/files/new-hampshire-spayneuter.pdf)). The program has operated continuously since 1994 and has inspired similar legislation in other states. ### How can I help bring a funded spay/neuter program to NC? Three direct actions. First, [sign the petition](https://ncpetproject.org/take-action/) to demand NC pass sustainable spay/neuter funding in the 2027 long session, which convenes January 13, 2027. Second, [email your state representative](https://ncpetproject.org/take-action/#ncpet-contact-rep) using our rep lookup tool, citing New Hampshire’s results and Texas’s $13M pilot as examples. See our full guide on [how to contact your NC rep about funding this](https://ncpetproject.org/contact-your-nc-rep/) for the ready-to-send letter. Third, share this comparison with anyone who cares about NC animal welfare policy. ### Key Takeaways - Four working state funding models exist: license surcharge (NH), specialty plate grants (FL), direct appropriation (TX), and dedicated state fund (DE). - NH’s license-fee program altered 34,265 animals from 1994 to 2002 as shelter euthanasia fell 77% (ASPCA Pro). - Texas appropriated $13 million in 2025 for a state spay/neuter pilot; applications opened in January 2026 and closed after a month because demand outran the money. - NC relies on $20 per “I Care” plate plus a $250,000 appropriation; in 2025 it paid about 37 cents on the dollar of county requests. - Closing NC’s 2025 gap between eligible county requests and what the state paid would have taken about $409,000. - For the specific NC TNR funding gap (community cats generally do not qualify, because the program covers owned pets), see our [breakdown of why NC needs a state-funded TNR program](https://ncpetproject.org/tnr-funding-nc/). North Carolina doesn’t have to invent anything new. Four states have already done the policy work and shown the results. The only thing missing is political will, and that comes from constituent pressure. [Sign the petition](https://ncpetproject.org/take-action/), [email your NC state representative](https://ncpetproject.org/take-action/#ncpet-contact-rep), and share this comparison with anyone who cares about how NC treats its animals. 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In 2025 the state program paid 37 cents of every dollar counties asked for. Add your name, or send your legislators a letter in three minutes. [Sign the petition](https://ncpetproject.org/sign-the-petition/) · [Email your legislators](https://ncpetproject.org/email-your-legislators/) **[Jake St. Peter](https://ncpetproject.org/about/#jake-st-peter)** writes NC Pet Project's guides and checks every figure against its primary source: state reports, statutes and the original studies. Spotted something out of date? Email [info@ncpetproject.org](mailto:info@ncpetproject.org). ## Keep reading - [Policy & AdvocacyNC’s Spay/Neuter License Plate: What “I Care” Actually Funds](https://ncpetproject.org/nc-spay-neuter-license-plate/) - [Feral Cats & TNRWhy North Carolina Needs a State-Funded TNR Program (And What It Would Save)](https://ncpetproject.org/tnr-funding-nc/) - [Policy & AdvocacyWhy NC Keeps Coming Up Short on Spay/Neuter Funding, and What Happens When Lawmakers Return](https://ncpetproject.org/nc-spay-neuter-funding/) - [Policy & AdvocacyPuppy Mills in North Carolina: What’s Happening Behind Closed Doors](https://ncpetproject.org/puppy-mills-nc/) --- NC Pet Project works to end pet overpopulation in North Carolina through low-cost spay/neuter and better laws, and lists adoptable pets from North Carolina shelters and rescues in one daily-updated place. Low-cost help by ZIP code: https://ncpetproject.org/get-help/ . Adoptable pets: https://ncpetproject.org/adopt/ . Contact: info@ncpetproject.org