ILCS » Chapter 510 · Act 70
Illinois Compiled Statutes

510 ILCS 70/3 (2026)

Owner's duties

✓ current as of May 2026
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(510 ILCS 70/3) (from Ch. 8, par. 703)
    Sec. 3. Owner's duties.
    (a) Each owner shall provide for each of his or her animals:
        (1) a sufficient quantity of good quality, wholesome
    
food and water;
        (2) adequate shelter and protection from the weather;
        (3) veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering;
    
and
        (4) humane care and treatment.
    (b) To lawfully tether a dog outdoors, an owner must ensure that the dog:
        (1) does not suffer from a condition that is known,
    
by that person, to be exacerbated by tethering;
        (2) is tethered in a manner that will prevent it from
    
becoming entangled with other tethered dogs;
        (3) is not tethered with a lead that (i) exceeds
    
one-eighth of the dog's body weight or (ii) is a tow chain or a log chain;
        (4) is tethered with a lead that measures, when
    
rounded to the nearest whole foot, at least 10 feet in length;
        (5) is tethered with a properly fitting harness or
    
collar other than the lead or a pinch, prong, or choke-type collar; and
        (6) is not tethered in a manner that will allow it
    
to reach within the property of another person, a public walkway, or a road.
    (c) Subsection (b) of this Section shall not be construed to prohibit:
        (1) a person from walking a dog with a hand-held
    
leash;
        (2) conduct that is directly related to the
    
cultivating of agricultural products, including shepherding or herding cattle or livestock, if the restraint is reasonably necessary for the safety of the dog;
        (3) the tethering of a dog while at an organized and
    
lawful animal function, such as hunting, obedience training, performance and conformance events, or law enforcement training, or while in the pursuit of working or competing in those endeavors; or
        (4) a dog restrained in compliance with the
    
requirements of a camping or recreational area as defined by a federal, State, or local authority or jurisdiction.
    (d) A person convicted of violating subsection (a) of this Section is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. A second or subsequent violation of subsection (a) of this Section is a Class 4 felony with every day that a violation continues constituting a separate offense. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, upon conviction for violating subsection (a) of this Section, the court may order the convicted person to undergo a psychological or psychiatric evaluation and to undergo any treatment at the convicted person's expense that the court determines to be appropriate after due consideration of the evaluation. If the convicted person is a juvenile or a companion animal hoarder, the court must order the convicted person to undergo a psychological or psychiatric evaluation and to undergo treatment that the court determines to be appropriate after due consideration of the evaluation.
    (e) A person convicted of violating subsection (b) of this Section is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
    (f) As used in this Section, "tether" means to restrain by tying to an object or structure, including, without limitation, a house, tree, fence, post, garage, shed, or clothes line at a person's residence or business, by any means, including, without limitation, a chain, rope, cord, leash, or running line.
(Source: P.A. 98-101, eff. 1-1-14.)

    
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 22 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 1999–2025 · leading case: People v. Shanklin, 769 N.E.2d 547 (Ill. App. Ct. 2002).
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People v. Shanklin, 769 N.E.2d 547 (Ill. App. Ct. 2002). · cites it 8× “01 (West 2000)) and five counts of violation of an owner's duties (510 ILCS 70/3 (West 2000)) for her actions on or about December 27, 2000.”
People v. Curtis, 944 N.E.2d 806 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). · cites it 6× “” 510 ILCS 70/3 (West 2008). Count I alleged that defendant knowingly and unlawfully failed to provide sufficient veterinary care to prevent suffering to the particular black cat.”
People v. Kirkpatrick, 2020 IL App (5th) 160422 (Ill. App. Ct. 2020). · cites it 3× “02 (West 2014)), counts II-VI charged her with practicing veterinarian medicine without a valid license (225 ILCS 115/5 (West 2014)), and counts VII-XII charged her with violating an animal owner’s duties (510 ILCS 70/3 (West 2014)). Counts I through III pertained to a dog named…”
People v. Curtis, 944 N.E.2d 806 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). · cites it 6× “" 510 ILCS 70/3 (West 2008). Count I alleged that defendant knowingly and unlawfully failed to provide sufficient veterinary care to prevent suffering to the particular black cat.”
Robert Farnik v. City of Chicago, 1 F.4th 535 (7th Cir. 2021). “” 510 ILCS 70/3(a). 12 No. 19-2104 II On appeal, Farnik argues that the cumulative effect of four legal errors cast him in a poor light and resulted in the adverse verdict against him, entitling him to a new trial.”
People v. Lee, 2015 IL App (1st) 132059 (Ill. App. Ct. 2015). · cites it 2× “510 ILCS 70/3 (West 2008). Regarding the trial court's admission of other-crimes evidence, defendant argues that the trial court erred by: not issuing a limiting instruction; barring evidence that defendant was acquitted of the other crime; and violating the hearsay rules by…”
People v. McCauley, 2018 IL App (1st) 160812 (Ill. App. Ct. 2018). “See 510 ILCS 70/3 (West 2018) (owner of "companion animal" must provide food, water, shelter, veterinary care, and other necessities, and faces criminal penalties for failure to do so).”
People v. Collier, 2020 IL App (1st) 162519 (Ill. App. Ct. 2021). “” 510 ILCS 70/3 (West 2014). The statute requires an owner to meet the animals’ basic needs, and it criminalizes the failure to meet those needs in addition to outright abuse and torture.”
Richardson v. DiCiaula, 2022 IL App (1st) 210513 (Ill. App. Ct. 2022). “¶ 10 On December 19, 2019, plaintiff filed a suit against defendant Lenette Renier DiCiaula, DVM, and Portage Park, alleging professional malpractice (count I), conversion (count II), common law fraud and concealment (count III), claims under the Humane Care for Animals Act (510…”
People v. Shanklin, 711 N.E.2d 796 (Ill. App. Ct. 1999). “BACKGROUND On July 10, 1996, following a bench trial in the circuit court of McLean County, defendant was convicted of the following misdemeaner offenses: nine counts of violation of owner’s duties (510 ILCS 70/3 (West 1994)); nine counts of cruel treatment of animals (510 ILCS…”
People v. Zamora, 2020 IL App (1st) 172011 (Ill. App. Ct. 2020). · cites it 3× “510 ILCS 70/3(a)(4), 3.01 (West 2014). On appeal, defendant asserts the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions because the evidence generally showed he treated his dogs well and they had not sustained physical or psychological injuries.”
Milan v. Forest Preserve Dist. of Cook Cnty., 2025 IL App (1st) 241058 (Ill. App. Ct. 2025). · cites it 6× “OPINION ¶1 Nicole Milan sued the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (Forest Preserve or forest preserve system), contending its captive animal program at the River Trail Nature Center (River Trail) in Northlake was violating the Humane Care for Animals Act (Act) (510 ILCS…”
Show all 22 citing cases →
— 510 ILCS 70/3(a) — 3 cases
Robert Farnik v. City of Chicago, 1 F.4th 535 (7th Cir. 2021). “” 510 ILCS 70/3(a). 12 No. 19-2104 II On appeal, Farnik argues that the cumulative effect of four legal errors cast him in a poor light and resulted in the adverse verdict against him, entitling him to a new trial.”
Milan v. Forest Preserve Dist. of Cook Cnty., 2025 IL App (1st) 241058 (Ill. App. Ct. 2025). “OPINION ¶1 Nicole Milan sued the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (Forest Preserve or forest preserve system), contending its captive animal program at the River Trail Nature Center (River Trail) in Northlake was violating the Humane Care for Animals Act (Act) (510 ILCS…”
People v. Brown, 2025 IL App (5th) 220415-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2025).
— 510 ILCS 70/3(a)(1) — 3 cases
Milan v. Forest Preserve Dist. of Cook Cnty., 2025 IL App (1st) 241058 (Ill. App. Ct. 2025). “OPINION ¶1 Nicole Milan sued the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (Forest Preserve or forest preserve system), contending its captive animal program at the River Trail Nature Center (River Trail) in Northlake was violating the Humane Care for Animals Act (Act) (510 ILCS…”
People v. Parnell, 2020 IL App (2d) 180197-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2020).
People v. Houston, 2025 IL App (4th) 240562-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2025).
— 510 ILCS 70/3(a)(2) — 2 cases
Milan v. Forest Preserve Dist. of Cook Cnty., 2025 IL App (1st) 241058 (Ill. App. Ct. 2025). “OPINION ¶1 Nicole Milan sued the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (Forest Preserve or forest preserve system), contending its captive animal program at the River Trail Nature Center (River Trail) in Northlake was violating the Humane Care for Animals Act (Act) (510 ILCS…”
People v. Martinez, 2020 IL App (1st) 171404-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2020).
— 510 ILCS 70/3(a)(3) — 1 case
People v. Parnell, 2020 IL App (2d) 180197-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2020).
— 510 ILCS 70/3(a)(4) — 3 cases
People v. Kirkpatrick, 2020 IL App (5th) 160422 (Ill. App. Ct. 2020). “02 (West 2014)), counts II-VI charged her with practicing veterinarian medicine without a valid license (225 ILCS 115/5 (West 2014)), and counts VII-XII charged her with violating an animal owner’s duties (510 ILCS 70/3 (West 2014)). Counts I through III pertained to a dog named…”
People v. Zamora, 2020 IL App (1st) 172011 (Ill. App. Ct. 2020). “510 ILCS 70/3(a)(4), 3.01 (West 2014). On appeal, defendant asserts the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions because the evidence generally showed he treated his dogs well and they had not sustained physical or psychological injuries.”
People v. Zamora, 2020 IL App (1st) 172011 (Ill. App. Ct. 2020).
— 510 ILCS 70/3(b)(5) — 2 cases
Vaughn Neita v. City of Chicago (7th Cir. 2025).
Vaughn Neita v. City of Chicago (7th Cir. 2025).
— 510 ILCS 70/3(c) — 2 cases
People v. Curtis, 944 N.E.2d 806 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). “” 510 ILCS 70/3 (West 2008). Count I alleged that defendant knowingly and unlawfully failed to provide sufficient veterinary care to prevent suffering to the particular black cat.”
People v. Curtis, 944 N.E.2d 806 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). “" 510 ILCS 70/3 (West 2008). Count I alleged that defendant knowingly and unlawfully failed to provide sufficient veterinary care to prevent suffering to the particular black cat.”
— 510 ILCS 70/3(d) — 5 cases
People v. Curtis, 944 N.E.2d 806 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). “” 510 ILCS 70/3 (West 2008). Count I alleged that defendant knowingly and unlawfully failed to provide sufficient veterinary care to prevent suffering to the particular black cat.”
People v. Curtis, 944 N.E.2d 806 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). “" 510 ILCS 70/3 (West 2008). Count I alleged that defendant knowingly and unlawfully failed to provide sufficient veterinary care to prevent suffering to the particular black cat.”
People v. Kirkpatrick, 2020 IL App (5th) 160422 (Ill. App. Ct. 2020). “02 (West 2014)), counts II-VI charged her with practicing veterinarian medicine without a valid license (225 ILCS 115/5 (West 2014)), and counts VII-XII charged her with violating an animal owner’s duties (510 ILCS 70/3 (West 2014)). Counts I through III pertained to a dog named…”
Vaughn Neita v. City of Chicago (7th Cir. 2025).
Vaughn Neita v. City of Chicago (7th Cir. 2025).
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