Animal Ordinances in Joliet, IL (2026)
10 verified animal ordinances for Joliet, Illinois, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Joliet bans keeping chickens and other farm animals citywide unless the property qualifies as a 'farm' under the zoning ordinance, so a typical residential lot cannot keep backyard hens. A narrow exception lets households keep one spayed or neutered potbellied pig under strict fencing, tusk-trimming and vaccination rules.
Joliet Backyard Chickens & Farm Animal Rules
Significant RestrictionsJoliet City Code § 6-10(c)
It shall be unlawful for any person to own, harbor, keep or permit within the corporate limits of the City of Joliet any farm animal (animals typically found on a farm, including but not limited to horses, asses, donkeys, mules, cattle, sheep, goats, swine (which includes potbellied pigs), fowl (which includes turkeys, geese, chickens and ducks) and bison, but does not include cats, dogs and ot...
Dog Leash Laws
Joliet bars owners from letting a dog run at large anywhere in the city; any dog found on a public street, sidewalk, alley or unenclosed area without a firm leash or an enclosed vehicle is deemed at large. A second at-large offense triggers mandatory sterilization within 30 days at the owner's expense.
Joliet Dogs Running At Large Ordinance
Some RestrictionsJoliet City Code § 6-22
No person shall cause or permit any dog owned or kept by him to run at large within the limits of the city. Any dog found upon any public street, sidewalk, alley, parkway or an unenclosed place shall be deemed running at large unless the dog is firmly held on a leash or is in an enclosed vehicle. A dog found running at large a second or subsequent time must be sterilized within thirty (30) days...
Breed Restrictions
Joliet has no breed ban; instead it runs a behavior-based dangerous and vicious dog declaration process after any dog attack, with an administrative hearing, mandatory leash-and-muzzle rules, $100,000 liability insurance, warning signage, and euthanasia for dogs found vicious.
Joliet Dangerous & Vicious Dog Declaration Law
Significant RestrictionsJoliet City Code § 6-28
Dangerous dog means any individual dog, other than a police dog, that when unmuzzled, unleashed, or unattended by its owner or custodian behaves in a manner that a reasonable person would believe poses an unjustified imminent threat of physical injury to a person or a companion animal. ... Vicious dog means a dog, other than a police dog, that, without justification, attacks a person or a compa...
Beekeeping
Joliet prohibits keeping bee apiaries on residential property under Section 6-10(c), which bans all farm animals including bees within the city except on property meeting the farm definition in the zoning ordinance.
Joliet Beekeeping Regulations
Heavy Restrictions510 ILCS 20 (Bees and Apiaries Act)
"Apiary" means a place where one or more hives or colonies of bees are kept. "Bee diseases" means any infectious or contagious diseases of bees as specified by the Department, including but not limited to American foulbrood. "Bee equipment" means hives, supers, frames, or any other devices used in beekeeping. "Bee parasites" means any parasite of bees as specified by the Department. "Beekeeper"...
Exotic Pets
Joliet outright bans owning or keeping any dangerous animal or primate as defined by state law, plus a detailed list of exotic species including alligators, bears, venomous snakes and non-domestic cats or dogs, anywhere within city limits. Zoos, licensed exhibitions and circuses are the only carve-out.
Joliet Dangerous & Exotic Animal Ban
Heavy RestrictionsJoliet City Code § 6-10(a)-(b)
It shall be unlawful for any person to own, harbor, keep or permit within the corporate limits of the City of Joliet any dangerous animal or primate as defined in 720 ILCS 5/48-10, except as provided therein. (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to own, harbor, keep or permit within the corporate limits of the City of Joliet any exotic animal (exotic animal means any live alligator, crocodil...
Wildlife Feeding
Joliet bans feeding wild animals or waterfowl, including ducks, geese, and gulls, on public or private property when it creates an unclean, unsafe, or unsanitary condition. The nuisance declaration under Code of Ordinances Sec. 20-35 carries a $500.00 fine per offense under Sec. 20-36.
Joliet Wild Animal & Waterfowl Feeding Ban
Some RestrictionsJoliet, IL Code of Ordinances § 20-35
It is hereby declared unlawful and shall constitute a nuisance to feed any wild animal or waterfowl on private or public property in a manner that creates an unclean, unsafe, or unsanitary condition, either on such person's property or on the property of another or of the city. This section does not prohibit the feeding of song birds using a well-maintained bird feeder; a feeder which generally...
Microchipping
Joliet will not release an impounded dog back to its owner until the dog is microchipped at the owner's expense, on top of proof of ownership, rabies inoculation and payment of all applicable fees. Dogs formally declared dangerous face a second, independent microchip mandate under the dangerous-dog rules.
Joliet Impounded Dog Microchipping Rule
Some RestrictionsJoliet City Code § 6-24
Any dog impounded may be redeemed by the owner at the animal control center during regular business hours upon proof of ownership, inoculation against rabies, micro chipped and upon payment of the applicable fees. If the dog is not inoculated against rabies, the dog must be inoculated against rabies, and the applicable fee will be charged to the owner for a rabies vaccination. ... The dog must ...
Coyote Management
Joliet's Code defines coyotes, deer, foxes, raccoons, and other non-domesticated animals as 'wild animals' and bans feeding them, or waterfowl, in a manner that creates unclean, unsafe, or unsanitary conditions, under City Code Sections 20-2 and 20-35. The rule targets nuisance-level feeding, such as luring waterfowl into yards, not incidental feeding, and carries a $500 fine.
Joliet Coyote & Wild Animal Feeding Ban
Some RestrictionsJoliet, IL Code of Ordinances §§ 20-2, 20-35
Wild animal means any animal, which is not normally domesticated in this state, including, but not limited to, coyotes, deer, feral cats, foxes, groundhogs, opossums, raccoons, skunks and waterfowl...(a)It is hereby declared unlawful and shall constitute a nuisance to feed any wild animal or waterfowl on private or public property in a manner that creates an unclean, unsafe, or unsanitary condi...
Pet Store Rules
Joliet outlaws operating or participating in a puppy mill and bans operating as an unlicensed dog breeder under City Code Sec. 6-34. Anyone commercially reselling dogs must source them consistent with the state Animal Welfare Act, and no one may separate a puppy from its mother before it turns eight weeks old, per Sec. 6-33.
Joliet Puppy Mill and Pet Sale Ban
Significant RestrictionsJoliet City Code §§ 6-32—— 6-34 (also Ch. 18, Art. XIII, §§ 18-261, 18-262, 18-266)
Puppy mill means a dog breeding operation in which the health of the dogs is disregarded in order to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits. ... No business or individual who is engaged in the commercial resale of dogs shall purchase, acquire, or otherwise accept a dog for resale in a manner inconsistent with 225 ILCS 605/3.8. No individual shall transfer, sell, or in any way separate any...
Bird Protection
Joliet makes it illegal to catch, detain, kill or molest a banded or marked pigeon, whether the bird is a homing, high-flying or air-performing pigeon carrying an owner's identification. The rule protects racing and show pigeons even when they land on someone else's property.
Joliet Banded Pigeon Protection Law
Some RestrictionsJoliet City Code § 6-9
No person, except the owner of the pigeon or other person lawfully in charge thereof, shall catch and detain or kill any homing, high-flying or air-performing pigeon, which at the time of its capture or detention, has upon its leg a seamless numbered band as issued by any national pigeon organization or by the United States Army, Navy or Marine Corps or which has upon its leg a band bearing the...
Looking for Will County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Joliet city rules.
Animal Ordinances in Will County →