Evanston, IL Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

City Code Section 9-4-15 states plainly: any person who kills, wounds or attempts to kill or wound, any game or song bird in the City or takes the eggs or young of any such bird shall be guilty of an offense and subject to the penalty prescribed by this Chapter. The Section sits in Chapter 4, Dogs, Cats, Animals and Fowl, whose Section 9-4-1 defines animal to mean any nonhuman living creature, domestic or wild, making clear the Chapter's protections aren't limited to pets.

Because Section 9-4-15 doesn't carry its own fine, enforcement runs through the Chapter's general penalty at Section 9-4-20(A): not less than $10.00 nor more than $500.00 for each offense, with every day a violation continues treated as a separate offense. The Animal Control Warden, who under Section 9-4-2 is the Chief of Police acting ex officio along with any appointed deputies, has police powers to enforce the Chapter, and interfering with the Warden's enforcement is itself an offense. Under the Chapter's general enforcement process at Section 9-4-8(C), the Warden or a police officer issues a notice of ordinance violation that can be paid within ten days to close the matter; if it isn't, the City can file a complaint in the Circuit Court of Cook County, where a conviction is punished under Section 9-4-20.