Animal Ordinances in Skokie, IL (2026)
10 verified animal ordinances for Skokie, Illinois, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Village of Skokie ordinance bans keeping cattle, goats, horses, swine, poultry, meaning backyard chickens too, or any other livestock anywhere within Village limits. Skokie Village Code Section 18-8(1) draws no residential-lot-size exception, so the prohibition applies equally to every zoning district, while a separate permit track allows only residential beekeeping under Article IV.
Skokie Livestock & Poultry Ban
Heavy RestrictionsSkokie Village Code § 18-8(1)
(1)No person shall keep, or suffer to be kept, any cattle, goats, horses, swine, poultry or other livestock in the Village.
Dog Leash Laws
Skokie Village Code Section 18-37 requires every dog on a Village street, sidewalk, parkway or other public area to be on a leash controlled by its owner or the owner's agent, and caps that leash at 8 feet long. Dogs, even leashed, are barred from school grounds, public playgrounds, public pools and public parks unless the property's governing authority allows it.
Skokie Dog Leash Law
Some RestrictionsSkokie Village Code § 18-37
(a)Leash required. It shall be unlawful to permit a dog, except when on a leash controlled by the owner or the owner's agent, to use or be upon any public street, sidewalk, parkway or public area within the Village. ... (d)Length of leash. No leash shall be longer than 8 feet in length.
Beekeeping
Skokie does not have specific provisions permitting beekeeping in residential districts. Honeybee hives are generally treated as livestock and may not be kept in residential areas without special approval. The Illinois Bees and Apiaries Act governs hive registration statewide.
Skokie Beekeeping Rules
Heavy Restrictions510 ILCS 20 (Illinois Bees and Apiaries Act)
"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" means a person who keeps bees. "Beekeeping" means the raising or producing of bees, beeswax, honey, and by-products and the transporting of bees, colonies or items of bee equipment. "Bees" means the common honey bee, Apis me...
Exotic Pets
The Village of Skokie bans keeping any species that can endanger people or property, reaching beyond farm animals to any non-domestic species capable of injuring humans by venom, constriction, suffocation or vicious biting, scratching or mauling. Skokie Village Code Section 18-8(2) makes attempted domestication no defense, and only government-held specimens and permitted backyard beekeeping are exempted.
Skokie Dangerous Wild Animal Ban
Heavy RestrictionsSkokie Village Code § 18-8(2)
(2)No person shall keep, harbor or maintain any species which may endanger the safety of persons or property. This includes species, other than commonly recognized domestic pets, which may harm or injure humans by injection of toxins, by constriction or suffocation, or by vicious biting, scratching or mauling. It is no defense to a violation of this subsection that the keeper of such species pr...
Wildlife Feeding
Village of Skokie ordinance caps how residents and businesses may feed wild or feral animals: ground feeding is banned outright, and Skokie Village Code Section 18-11 limits every lot to 4 hanging feeders, 2 suet feeders and 2 water dispensers, with unlimited hummingbird feeders, each set at least 5 feet inside the property line.
Skokie Wildlife & Bird Feeding Rules
Some RestrictionsSkokie Village Code § 18-11
(b)Ground feeding prohibited. All feed must be placed within an approved container, receptacle or feeder designed for the feeding of wild/feral mammals and/or birds and as defined in this section. Platform feeders as defined in Section 18-11(a) are prohibited.(c)Number of feeders. The maximum number of feeders per residential or business/commercial lot shall be as follows: Type of Feeder Quanti...
Pet Limits
Skokie Village Code Section 18-39 caps household pets at 3 dogs and 4 cats in a single-family home, building or lot, and at 2 dogs and 2 cats in a single-family apartment or condominium, whether or not the animals are licensed. Veterinary hospitals, pet shops and pounds are exempt from the cap.
Skokie Household Pet Limit
Some RestrictionsSkokie Village Code § 18-39
No person shall allow or permit more than 3 dogs and more than 4 cats, whether licensed or not, to be or remain in or about any single-family residence, building or lot, or more than 2 dogs and more than 2 cats in any single-family apartment or condominium, within the Village under such person's control, at any 1 time, except in veterinary hospitals, pet shops and pounds.
Cat Rules
Every cat housed in the Village of Skokie past four months old must carry a Village license, renewed annually, under Skokie Village Code Section 18-31. Owners apply within 30 days of acquiring the cat or the cat turning four months, pay the fee set in Section 46-37, and must show proof of current rabies inoculation before the Village issues the license.
Skokie Cat Licensing Requirements
Some RestrictionsSkokie Village Code § 18-31
(a)Generally. ... Every dog or cat that is housed within the Village of Skokie and that is more than four months of age shall be licensed by the Village, pursuant to this Chapter, not more than 30 days subsequent to the acquisition of the dog or cat or when the dog or cat reaches four months of age. Said license must be maintained annually commencing with the next annual license renewal period ...
Microchipping
Skokie's Administrative Law Officer or a Cook County judge can order any dog or cat designated a Menacing, Dangerous or Vicious Animal to be surgically altered and microchipped, at the owner's expense, within 10 to 14 days of the determination under Village Code Sections 18-60 through 18-62.
Skokie Dangerous Animal Microchipping Rule
Significant RestrictionsSkokie Village Code § 18-61(e)(1)
(e)Additional penalties. In addition to the penalties established in Chapter 1, Section 1-6, the following penalties pertain to a violation of Section 18-61(a), in which a designation of Dangerous Animal has been made by an Administrative Law Officer or a Judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County:(1)For the first violation of 18-61(a), an Administrative Law Officer or the Circuit Court of Cook ...
Pet Groomer Rules
Any Village of Skokie establishment that grooms pets and animals for profit or hire is regulated as a pet and animal service under Chapter 54, Article XI. The premises must stay clean and sanitary, waste cannot sit more than 24 hours, and animals cannot be left barking or howling enough to disturb a neighborhood.
Skokie Pet Grooming Business Sanitation Rules
Some RestrictionsSkokie Village Code §§ 54-361, 54-365, 54-366
Pet and animal sales, services and veterinary services includes any establishment where: ... (3)Pets and animals are groomed for profit or hire. ... (a)Every establishment shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition, and no refuse or waste material shall be allowed to remain thereon for more than 24 hours. ... No establishment regulated under this article shall harbor or keep any animal shu...
Bird Protection
Village Code Sec. 70-152 makes it unlawful to kill, wound or attempt to kill or wound most wild birds within Skokie, whether by firearm, slingshot, bow and arrow, stones or otherwise, and separately bars taking their eggs or young from private or Village-owned ground.
Skokie Ban on Killing or Injuring Birds
Heavy RestrictionsSkokie Village Code § 70-152
It shall be unlawful for any person to kill or wound, or attempt to kill or wound, by the use of firearms, slingshot, bow and arrow, pelting with stones or otherwise, any quail, pheasant, robin, blue jay, or any other song, plumage or game bird within any private ground or upon any public park, square, street or grounds, or for any person to take the eggs or young or any quail, pheasant, robin,...
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County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Skokie city rules.
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