In Illinois, wildlife are owned collectively by the people, not by individual property owners. Most species of wildlife are protected under the Illinois Wildlife Code, and they may only be legally removed if a permit has been issued by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
If you are dealing with wildlife damage and all other nonlethal options have failed, removal of an animal may be the final solution. There are two options for removing wildlife:
Once the animal is removed, we have some suggestions for repairing damage.
The Wildlife Illinois website was authorized by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) in partial fulfillment of project W-147-T. The website was developed by the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, 2wav, and the IDNR in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services and University of Illinois Extension to provide research-based information about how to coexist with Illinois wildlife.
