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| 1 | AN ACT concerning criminal law.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Wild | ||||||
| 5 | Animal Public Safety Act. | ||||||
| 6 | Section 5. Definitions.
In this Act: | ||||||
| 7 | "Covered animal" means any live member of the following, | ||||||
| 8 | or any hybrid
of the following: | ||||||
| 9 | (1) Bear. | ||||||
| 10 | (2) Nonhuman primate. | ||||||
| 11 | "Direct contact" means physical contact or proximity where | ||||||
| 12 | physical contact
is possible, including, but not limited to, | ||||||
| 13 | any proximity without a permanent
physical barrier or | ||||||
| 14 | sufficient vertical height designed to prevent physical | ||||||
| 15 | contact
between the public and a covered animal. | ||||||
| 16 | "Professional production crew" means a cast or crew member | ||||||
| 17 | of a television or
motion picture production team that has | ||||||
| 18 | obtained permits as required by law, and
includes a | ||||||
| 19 | professional photographer, videographer, or cinematographer. | ||||||
| 20 | Section 10. Prohibition.
Notwithstanding any other | ||||||
| 21 | provision of law to the contrary, it is unlawful for any
person | ||||||
| 22 | to allow any member of the public to come into direct contact | ||||||
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| 1 | with a covered animal. | ||||||
| 2 | Section 15. Nonapplication of Act.
This Act does not | ||||||
| 3 | apply to direct contact between a covered animal and any of the
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| 4 | following: | ||||||
| 5 | (1) The owner of the covered animal. | ||||||
| 6 | (2) The owner of the facility in which the specified | ||||||
| 7 | animal is kept. | ||||||
| 8 | (3) A trained professional employee or contractor of | ||||||
| 9 | the owner of the covered
animal or facility (or an | ||||||
| 10 | accompanying employee receiving professional training),
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| 11 | while acting in the course and scope of official duty. | ||||||
| 12 | (4) A licensed veterinarian, a veterinary student | ||||||
| 13 | accompanying such a
veterinarian, or a registered | ||||||
| 14 | veterinary technician under the direct or indirect
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| 15 | supervision of a licensed veterinarian. | ||||||
| 16 | (5) A law enforcement officer or animal control | ||||||
| 17 | authority acting in the course
and scope of official duty. | ||||||
| 18 | (6) An employee of a federal, State, or local agency, | ||||||
| 19 | while acting in the course and scope of the person's | ||||||
| 20 | official duty. | ||||||
| 21 | (7) A board member of the facility where the animal is | ||||||
| 22 | kept, a trainee, service
provider, or professional | ||||||
| 23 | production crew which: | ||||||
| 24 | (A) is accompanied by the facility's owner or | ||||||
| 25 | trained employee; | ||||||
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| 1 | (B) is performing work with the specified animal | ||||||
| 2 | away from public
view; and
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| 3 | (C) is under a contract or other engagement with | ||||||
| 4 | the facility's owner. | ||||||
| 5 | Section 20. Penalty.
Any person who violates the | ||||||
| 6 | provisions of this Act is guilty of a Class B
misdemeanor.
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| 7 | Section 25. Enforcement.
Any law enforcement officer or | ||||||
| 8 | peace officer employed by this State or by any
county or | ||||||
| 9 | municipality within this State may enforce the provisions
of | ||||||
| 10 | this Act. The Attorney General, or a State's Attorney of the | ||||||
| 11 | county in which a
violation of this Act occurred, may bring an | ||||||
| 12 | action in the name of the People of the
State of Illinois to | ||||||
| 13 | enforce the provisions of this Act, and may bring an action for | ||||||
| 14 | an
injunction to restrain any actual or threatened violation.
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| 15 | Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are | ||||||
| 16 | severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes. | ||||||