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| Public Act 103-0490
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| SB1499 Enrolled | LRB103 04557 HEP 49564 b |
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AN ACT concerning animals.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Humane Care for Animals Act is amended by |
changing Section 3.04 as follows:
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(510 ILCS 70/3.04)
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Sec. 3.04. Arrests and seizures; penalties.
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(a) Any law enforcement officer making an arrest for an |
offense involving
one or more companion animals under Section |
3.01, 3.02, 3.03, 3.03-1, 4.01, 4.03, 4.04, 6, or 7.1, or 7.15 |
of this Act
may lawfully take possession of some or all of the |
companion animals in the
possession of the person arrested. |
The officer, after taking possession of the
companion animals, |
must file with the court before whom the complaint is made
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against any person so arrested an affidavit stating the name |
of the person
charged in the complaint, a description of the |
condition of the companion
animal or companion animals taken, |
and the time and place the companion animal
or companion |
animals were taken, together with the name of the person from
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whom the companion animal or companion animals were taken and |
name of the
person who claims to own the companion animal or |
companion animals if different
from the person from whom the |
companion animal or companion animals were
seized. He or she |
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must at the same time deliver an inventory of the companion
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animal or companion animals taken to the court of competent |
jurisdiction. The
officer must place the companion animal or |
companion animals in the custody of
an animal control or |
animal shelter and the agency must retain custody of the
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companion animal or companion animals subject to an order of |
the court
adjudicating the charges on the merits and before |
which the person complained
against is required to appear for |
trial. If the animal control or animal shelter owns no |
facility capable of housing the companion animals, has no |
space to house the companion animals, or is otherwise unable |
to house the companion animals or the health or condition of |
the animals prevents their removal, the animals shall be |
impounded at the site of the violation pursuant to a court |
order authorizing the impoundment, provided that the person |
charged is an owner of the property. Employees or agents of the |
animal control or animal shelter or law enforcement shall have |
the authority to access the on-site impoundment property for |
the limited purpose of providing care and veterinary treatment |
for the impounded animals and ensuring their well-being and |
safety. Upon impoundment, a petition for posting of security |
may be filed under Section 3.05 of this Act. Disposition of the |
animals shall be controlled by Section 3.06 of this Act. The |
State's Attorney may, within 14
days after the seizure, file a |
"petition for forfeiture prior to trial" before
the court |
having criminal jurisdiction over the alleged charges, asking |
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for
permanent forfeiture of the companion animals seized. The |
petition shall be
filed with the court, with copies served on |
the impounding agency, the owner,
and anyone claiming an |
interest in the animals. In a "petition for forfeiture
prior |
to trial", the burden is on the prosecution to prove by a |
preponderance
of the evidence that the person arrested |
violated Section 3.01, 3.02, 3.03, 3.03-1,
4.01, 4.03, 4.04, |
6, or 7.1, or 7.15 of this Act or Section 26-5 or 48-1 of the |
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012.
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(b) An owner whose companion animal or companion animals |
are removed by a
law enforcement officer under this Section |
must be given written notice of
the circumstances of the |
removal and of any legal remedies available to him
or her. The |
notice must be delivered in person, posted at the place of |
seizure, or delivered to
a person residing at the place of |
seizure or, if the address of the owner is
different from the |
address of the person from whom the companion animal or
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companion animals were seized, delivered by registered mail to |
his or her last
known address.
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(c) In addition to any other penalty provided by law, upon |
conviction of or being placed on supervision for
violating |
Sections 3, 3.01, 3.02, 3.03, 3.03-1, 4.01, 4.03, 4.04, 6, or |
7.1, or 7.15 of this Act or Section 26-5 or 48-1 of the |
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, the court |
may order the convicted
person convicted or placed on |
supervision to forfeit to an animal control or animal shelter
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the animal
or animals that are the basis of the conviction or |
order for supervision. Upon an order of
forfeiture, the |
convicted person convicted or placed on supervision is deemed |
to have permanently
relinquished all rights to the animal or |
animals that are the basis of the
conviction or order for |
supervision, if not already. The forfeited animal or animals |
shall be adopted or humanely
euthanized. In no event may the |
convicted person convicted or placed on supervision, or anyone |
residing in
his or her household be permitted to adopt or |
otherwise possess the forfeited animal or animals.
The court, |
additionally, may order that the convicted person convicted or |
placed on supervision, and persons
dwelling in the same |
household as the convicted person convicted or placed on |
supervision who conspired, aided, or
abetted in the
unlawful |
act that was the basis of the conviction or order for |
supervision, or who knew or should
have known of the unlawful |
act, may not own, possess, harbor, or have custody or
control |
of any other animals for a period of time that the court deems
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reasonable, up to and including permanent relinquishment.
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(d) In addition to any other penalty, the court may order |
that a person and persons dwelling in the same household may |
not own, harbor, or have custody or control of any other animal |
if the person has been convicted of 2 or more of the following |
offenses: |
(1) a violation of Section 3.02 of this Act; |
(2) a violation of Section 4.01 of this Act; or |
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(3) a violation of Section 48-1 of the Criminal Code |
of 2012. |
(e) A person who violates the prohibition against owning, |
possessing, harboring, having custody, or having control of
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animals is subject to immediate forfeiture of any animal
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illegally owned in violation of subsection (c). A person who
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owns, possesses, harbors, has custody, or has control of an
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animal in violation of an order issued under subsection (c) is
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also subject to the civil and criminal contempt power of the
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court and, if found guilty of criminal contempt, may be
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subject to imprisonment for not more than 90 days, a fine of |
not more than $2,500, or both. |
(Source: P.A. 102-114, eff. 1-1-22.)
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