Kankakee County, IL Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Section 10-3(a) defines a "breeder" as an individual or business entity licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, or registered with Kankakee County as an owner of three or more breedable adult male and/or female dogs or cats. Crossing that three-animal threshold in unincorporated Kankakee County does not itself violate the code, but it converts the owner into a breeder subject to section 10-3's full licensing regime: an annual kennel license approved by the county board, mandatory pre-license and annual inspections by the animal control department, and detailed minimum-size and sanitation standards for primary enclosures, from nine square feet per caged cat with a litter pan to graduated cage sizes for small, medium and large dogs and required heating below 50 degrees and cooling above 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

Breeders must also report sales, adoptions, litters and microchip numbers to the administrator by November 15 each year, and an applicant cannot have been found guilty of more than three animal-control violations in the prior three years. A licensed breeder's premises must also carry proper zoning or a variance under section 10-3(c)(5), tying the pet-count threshold directly into the county's land-use rules for unincorporated areas.