Macon County, IL Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)
Key Facts
- Restraint standard
- Direct, effective physical control
- Enforcement
- Apprehension and impoundment, § 96.04
- Per-offense fine
- $75 to $500, § 96.99
- Adoption window
- 7 days after impoundment, § 96.21
- Key exceptions
- Hunting, tracking, police canine dogs
Summary
In unincorporated Macon County, every animal owner must confine the animal to their own property or keep it under direct, effective physical control. Macon County Code § 96.04 lets Animal Control apprehend and impound any animal caught running at large, with limited exceptions for hunting dogs, tracking dogs and canine-corps animals on duty.
RUN AT LARGE. Suffering, permitting, or causing an animal to be at any place within the county, at any time, outside an escape-proof building or other enclosure without such animal being under direct, effective physical control of the owner thereof, or his or her agent, or a member of the immediate family of said owner. ... Every owner of an animal shall contain such animal to the confines of the owner's real property unless the animal is under restraint and shall not permit such animal to be at large. Any animal found running at large in unincorporated areas of the county in violation of this section may be apprehended and impounded.
Full Breakdown
02 defines RUN AT LARGE as an animal being anywhere in the county, outside an escape-proof building or enclosure, without being under the direct, effective physical control of its owner, the owner's agent, or an immediate family member. 04 turns that definition into a duty: every animal owner must contain the animal to their own real property unless it is under restraint, and may not permit it to be at large. Any animal found running at large in the unincorporated county in violation of the section may be apprehended and impounded by Macon County Animal Control.
The section carves out six specific exceptions, covering dogs used in hunting or field trials, dogs at sanctioned shows on public land, bloodhounds or tracking dogs used with police, canine-corps dogs of a police force, state police, federal agency or the Armed Forces on official duty, dogs confined with the permission of another property's owner, and dogs or cats on land outside the unincorporated, subdivided-for-residential portion of the county. 21, or humanely dispatched if no placement is available.
Violations & Fines
Running an animal at large is enforced through impoundment under § 96.20 and, separately, a general Chapter 96 fine of not less than $75 nor more than $500 per offense under § 96.99, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense. The owner is also responsible for any veterinary or holding expenses incurred while the animal is impounded, under § 96.22.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do dogs have to be leashed in unincorporated Macon County?
What happens if my dog is caught running at large?
Are any dogs exempt from the at-large rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Macon County
Compare Macon County to another location·View the Illinois animal ordinances overview
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