“Practicing responsible pet ownerships and the need to reduce the stray and homeless pet population are the messages surrounding this plate design,” Commissioner Shell said. “With 411 animal shelters and animal welfare organizations in Kentucky, it’s obvious we, as a society, need to do more to control the population. Since February is Spay and Neuter Awareness Month, this is the perfect time to refresh our design and send a call out to local artists.”

The current Spay and Neuter license plate, which depicts a kitten and a puppy nuzzled together, was adopted to raise awareness of the need to reduce the population of stray and homeless animals in Kentucky. During its lifetime, sales have equated to more than $600,000 in grants being awarded to organizations, resulting in more than 17,200 cats and dogs being spayed or neutered.

Proceeds from the sales of the license plates go to the Animal Control and Care Fund, which is administered by the Animal Control Advisory Board. The Board was established in 1998 by an act of the Kentucky General Assembly. The duties of the Board include making recommendations to the Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture relating to animal control issues and evaluating applications for spay and neuter grants to Kentucky counties and municipalities.

Artists are asked to consider the following in their designs:

Why Spay and Neuter?

1.    Helps cut down on Kentucky’s pet overpopulation problem

2.    The more pets that are spayed/neutered, the more pets can be adopted

3.    Spaying/Neutering can reduce bad behavior such as roaming, spraying, and fighting

4.    Reduces risk of disease

The guidelines for designing a specialty license plate can be found here.

The contest deadline is April 20, 2025. Entries can be submitted to Michael Grant at Michael.Grant@ky.gov.