Bill Text: IL HB3008 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends the Animal Welfare Act. Adds language affording a secondary contact or the purchaser of a microchip (if the purchaser is a nonprofit organization, animal shelter, animal control facility, pet store, breeder, or veterinary office) the right to reclaim a dog or cat prior to adoption, transfer, or euthanization if the microchipped dog or cat's primary contact cannot be located or refuses to reclaim the animal.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-04-12 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB3008 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-HB3008-Introduced.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning regulation.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Animal Welfare Act is amended by changing | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | Section 3.6 as follows:
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6 | (225 ILCS 605/3.6) | |||||||||||||||||||
7 | Sec. 3.6. Acceptance of stray dogs and cats. | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | (a) No animal shelter may accept a stray dog or cat unless | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | the animal is reported by the shelter to the animal control or | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | law enforcement of the county in which the animal is found by | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | the next business day. An animal shelter may accept animals | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | from: (1) the owner of the animal where the owner signs a | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | relinquishment form which states he or she is the owner of the | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | animal; (2) an animal shelter licensed under this Act; or (3) | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | an out-of-state animal control facility, rescue group, or | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | animal shelter that is duly licensed in their state or is a | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | not-for-profit organization. | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | (b) When stray dogs and cats are accepted by an animal | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | shelter, they must be scanned for the presence of a microchip | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | and examined for other currently-acceptable methods of | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | identification, including, but not limited to, identification | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | tags, tattoos, and rabies license tags. The examination for | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | identification shall be done within 24 hours after the intake |
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1 | of each dog or cat. The animal shelter shall notify the owner | ||||||
2 | and transfer any dog with an identified owner to the animal | ||||||
3 | control or law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which | ||||||
4 | it was found or the local animal control agency for redemption. | ||||||
5 | (c) If no transfer can occur, the animal shelter shall make | ||||||
6 | every reasonable attempt to contact the owner, agent, or | ||||||
7 | caretaker as soon as possible. The animal shelter shall give | ||||||
8 | notice of not less than 7 business days to the owner, agent, or | ||||||
9 | caretaker prior to disposal of the animal. The notice shall be | ||||||
10 | mailed to the last known address of the owner, agent, or | ||||||
11 | caretaker. Testimony of the animal shelter, or its authorized | ||||||
12 | agent, who mails the notice shall be evidence of the receipt of | ||||||
13 | the notice by the owner, agent, or caretaker of the animal. A | ||||||
14 | mailed notice shall remain the primary means of owner, agent, | ||||||
15 | or caretaker contact; however, the animal shelter shall also | ||||||
16 | attempt to contact the owner, agent, or caretaker by any other | ||||||
17 | contact information, such as by telephone or email address, | ||||||
18 | provided by the microchip or other method of identification | ||||||
19 | found on the dog or cat. If the dog or cat has been | ||||||
20 | microchipped and the primary contact listed by the chip | ||||||
21 | manufacturer cannot be located or refuses to reclaim the dog or | ||||||
22 | cat, an attempt shall be made to contact any secondary contacts | ||||||
23 | listed by the chip manufacturer or the purchaser of the | ||||||
24 | microchip if the purchaser is a nonprofit organization, animal | ||||||
25 | shelter, animal control facility, pet store, breeder, or | ||||||
26 | veterinary office and the secondary contact or the purchaser of |
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1 | the microchip shall be afforded the right to reclaim the dog or | ||||||
2 | cat prior to adoption, transfer, or euthanization. Prior to | ||||||
3 | transferring any stray dog or cat to another humane shelter, | ||||||
4 | pet store, rescue group, or euthanization, the dog or cat shall | ||||||
5 | be scanned again for the presence of a microchip and examined | ||||||
6 | for other means of identification. If a second scan provides | ||||||
7 | the same identifying information as the initial intake scan and | ||||||
8 | the owner, agent, or caretaker has not been located or refuses | ||||||
9 | to reclaim the dog or cat, the animal shelter may proceed with | ||||||
10 | adoption, transfer, or euthanization. | ||||||
11 | (d) When stray dogs and cats are accepted by an animal | ||||||
12 | shelter and no owner can be identified, the shelter shall hold | ||||||
13 | the animal for the period specified in local ordinance prior to | ||||||
14 | adoption, transfer, or euthanasia. The animal shelter shall | ||||||
15 | allow access to the public to view the animals housed there. If | ||||||
16 | a dog is identified by an owner who desires to make redemption | ||||||
17 | of it, the dog shall be transferred to the local animal control | ||||||
18 | for redemption. If no transfer can occur, the animal shelter | ||||||
19 | shall proceed pursuant to Section 3.7. Upon lapse of the hold | ||||||
20 | period specified in local ordinance and no owner can be | ||||||
21 | identified, ownership of the animal, by operation of law, | ||||||
22 | transfers to the shelter that has custody of the animal. | ||||||
23 | (e) No representative of an animal shelter may enter | ||||||
24 | private property and remove an animal without permission from | ||||||
25 | the property owner and animal owner, nor can any representative | ||||||
26 | of an animal shelter direct another individual to enter private |
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1 | property and remove an animal unless that individual is an | ||||||
2 | approved humane investigator (approved by the Department) | ||||||
3 | operating pursuant to the provisions of the Humane Care for | ||||||
4 | Animals Act. | ||||||
5 | (f) Nothing in this Section limits an animal shelter and an | ||||||
6 | animal control facility who, through mutual agreement, wish to | ||||||
7 | enter into an agreement for animal control, boarding, holding, | ||||||
8 | measures to improve life-saving, or other services provided | ||||||
9 | that the agreement requires parties adhere to the provisions of | ||||||
10 | the Animal Control Act, the Humane Euthanasia in Animal | ||||||
11 | Shelters Act, and the Humane Care for Animals Act.
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12 | (Source: P.A. 99-310, eff. 1-1-16; 100-322, eff. 8-24-17; | ||||||
13 | 100-870, eff. 1-1-19 .)
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