DuPage County, IL Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

Sec. 5-3(L) of the County Code, part of the ANIMAL CARE section of Article I (ANIMAL AND RABIES CONTROL), states that "[n]o person shall kill or wound, attempt to kill or wound or take the nest or eggs or young of any bird that is protected by federal or state law." The same sentence carves out a narrow exception: birds that are not regulated by the Illinois Department of Conservation are excluded from the restriction during the period of regulation, meaning the ban only bites for species actually covered by state or federal protection at the time. This provision sits alongside a separate ban in Sec. 5-3(M) on killing or taking any fish or wildlife in violation of federal or state law, so bird nests, eggs and fledglings get their own explicit line rather than being folded into the general wildlife clause.

Because the prohibition is keyed to species "protected by federal or state law," enforcement in practice leans on the underlying Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Illinois wildlife statutes to establish which birds qualify; DuPage County Animal Services and its wardens have authority to investigate and cite under Sec. 5-14. A resident who disturbs a protected nest, whether by removing it during tree trimming or destroying eggs, is exposed under this county-level provision even before any separate state or federal charge is considered.