Injuring or killing police animals, service animals, accelerant detection dogs, or search and rescue dogs prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully or maliciously torture, mutilate, injure, disable, poison, or kill 

• (i) any animal used by a law enforcement department or agency in the performance of the functions or duties of the department or agency or when placed in confinement off duty, 

  • (ii) any service animal, 

  • (iii) any search and rescue dog, 

  • (iv) any law enforcement, service, or search and rescue animal in training, or 

  • (v) any accelerant detection canine used by a fire officer for arson investigations in the performance of his or her functions or while off duty. However, a police officer or veterinarian may perform euthanasia in emergency situations when delay would cause the animal undue suffering and pain.

A person convicted of violating this Section is guilty of a Class 4 felony if the animal is not killed or totally disabled; if the animal is killed or totally disabled, the person is guilty of a Class 3 felony.

(a) A person may not willfully and maliciously annoy, taunt, tease, harass, torment, beat, or strike a guide, hearing, or support dog or otherwise engage in any conduct directed toward a guide, hearing, or support dog that is likely to impede or interfere with the dog's performance of its duties or that places the blind, hearing impaired, or person with a physical disability being served or assisted by the dog in danger of injury.

(b) A person may not willfully and maliciously torture, injure, or kill a guide, hearing, or support dog.

(c) A person may not willfully and maliciously permit a dog that is owned, harbored, or controlled by the person to cause injury to or the death of a guide, hearing, or support dog while the guide, hearing, or support dog is in discharge of its duties.

(d) A person convicted of violating this Section is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. A second or subsequent violation is a Class 4 felony. A person convicted of violating subsection (b) or (c) of this Section is guilty of a Class 4 felony if the dog is killed or totally disabled, and may be ordered by the court to make restitution to the person with a disability having custody or ownership of the dog for veterinary bills and replacement costs of the dog.

(a) In addition to and not in lieu of any other penalty provided by State law, a physically impaired person who uses an assistance animal or the owner of an assistance animal may bring an action for economic and noneconomic damages against any person who steals or, without provocation, attacks the assistance animal or exposes the assistance animal to any chemical that is hazardous to the assistance animal; however, an action against a person for exposing an assistance animal to a chemical that is hazardous to the assistance animal may be brought under this Act only if the person against whom the action is brought knew or reasonably should have known that the assistance animal was present and that the chemical was hazardous to the assistance animal. The physically impaired person or owner may also bring an action for such damages against the owner of any animal that, without provocation, attacks an assistance animal. The action authorized by this subsection may be brought by the physically impaired person or owner even if the assistance animal was in the custody or under the supervision of another person when the theft, attack, or exposure occurred.

(b) If the theft of or unprovoked attack on an assistance animal or exposure of the assistance animal to any chemical that is hazardous to the assistance animal described in subsection (a) of this Section results in the death of the animal or the animal is not returned or if injuries sustained prevent the animal from returning to service as an assistance animal, the measure of economic damages shall include, but need not be limited to, the veterinary medical expenses and the replacement value of an equally trained assistance animal, without any differentiation for the age or the experience of the animal. In addition, the physically impaired person or owner may recover any other costs and expenses, including, but not limited to, costs of temporary replacement assistance services, whether provided by another assistance animal or a person, incurred as a result of the theft of or injury to the animal.

(c) If the theft of or unprovoked attack on an assistance animal or exposure of the assistance animal to any chemical that is hazardous to the assistance animal described in subsection (a) of this Section results in injuries from which the animal recovers and returns to service, or if the animal is stolen but is recovered and returns to service, the measure of economic damages shall include, but need not be limited to, the veterinary medical expenses, costs of temporary replacement assistance services, whether provided by another assistance animal or a person, and any other costs and expenses incurred by the physically impaired person or owner as a result of the theft of or injury to the animal.

(d) No cause of action arises under this Section if the physically impaired person, owner or the person having custody or supervision of the assistance animal was committing a criminal or civil trespass at the time of the theft of or attack on the assistance animal or exposure of the assistance animal to any chemical that is hazardous to the assistance animal.

(e) The court shall award reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing plaintiff in an action under this Section. The court may award reasonable attorney's fees and expert witness fees incurred by a defendant who prevails in the action if the court determines that the plaintiff had no objectively reasonable basis for asserting a claim or no objectively reasonable basis for appealing an adverse decision of a trial court.