BUFFALO GROVE, IL — Saying the keeping of dangerous, exotic animals as pets "is not appropriate in a residential environment," Illinois State Rep. Daniel Didech (D-Buffalo Grove) has introduced legislation banning the possession of African serval cats in the state.

The proposed bill, introduced during the first week of the current legislative session on Jan. 16, follows a November incident in which a cat being kept as a pet in Vernon Hills escaped its enclosure and was loose for three hours in a residential neighborhood.

"It is time to update our dangerous animals’ law to ensure we are adequately keeping families safe throughout Illinois," Didech said in a statement from his office regarding House Bill 4446.

According to Didech’s office, it is illegal in Illinois to possess a lion, tiger, leopard, ocelot, jaguar, cheetah, margay, mountain lion, lynx, bobcat, jaguarundi, bear, hyena, wolf, coyote, or nonhuman primate. Didech’s proposal would also ban possession of a serval, caracal, kangaroo, wallaby, or any hybrid, intergrade, or cross of a dangerous animal.

During the November incident in Vernon Hills, the African wildcat chased down a neighbor and cornered her while she was walking her dog. Police said they found the cat, began tracking it, eventually finding its owners. The animal was eventually captured, but when attempting to transfer the cat back to its enclosure, it sustained fatal injuries.

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According to Didech’s office, the new law would recognize exceptions for the possession of dangerous animals in a "properly maintained" zoological park, federally licensed exhibit, circus, college or university, scientific institution, research laboratory, veterinary hospital, hound running area, or animal refuge in an escape-proof enclosure.

Didech said he is working with experts at the Illinois Humane Society and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to update the law. The bill will be considered during the 2024 legislative session, which runs through the end of May.

Didech represents the 59th District, which includes Buffalo Grove, Vernon Hills, Mundelein, Wheeling, Lincolnshire, Libertyville, Indian Creek, Mettawa, Park City, Waukegan, and unincorporated areas of Vernon Township and Fremont Township.