Kane County Animal Control to Introduce New Pet Tag Services
Beginning next year, Kane County Animal Control (KCAC) will offer new pet tag services designed to improve pet identification including when it comes to rabies vaccinations.
Under Illinois law, all dogs and cats 4 months of age or older must be vaccinated against rabies and wear a current rabies tag. The only exception is for pets granted a medical exemption.
Starting in 2027, KCAC will begin issuing distinctively colored "Rabies Exempt" tags for medically exempt pets. The tags will make it easier to identify exempt animals from a distance and reinforce that those exemptions are valid for one year only, as required by Illinois law. Currently, exempt pets receive the same one-year rabies tag as vaccinated animals. If an exempt animal bites a person, it must follow the same legal requirements as an unvaccinated pet, including notification to local authorities within 24 hours and a mandatory 10-day veterinary observation period to monitor for rabies. To make the tags easy to recognize, their color will change each year.
Rabies exemptions are not granted at an owner's request. They must be approved by a licensed veterinarian and are generally limited to pets with serious medical conditions, such as a previous life-threatening allergic reaction to a rabies vaccine or certain active immune-mediated diseases.
Each exemption tag will display "Rabies Exempt" on one side and "Kane County" with a unique identification number on the other. The tags will cost $15.
KCAC is also launching a personalized pet identification tag service. For $10, pet owners can have a custom tag engraved with up to three lines of information, such as a pet's name and the owner's phone number, address or email address. The tags provide an additional way to help lost pets return home and are ideal for pets with collars, whether or not they are microchipped.
The personalized tags will be available at the Animal Control facility, including for newly adopted pets, and KCAC plans to bring the engraving machine to community events so pet owners can purchase custom tags on-site.
Learn more about Kane County Animal Control by visiting pets.kanecountyil.gov, where you can browse adoptable pets, learn about adoption services and low-cost rabies and microchip clinics, and more. Don't miss Kane County Animal Control's Adoptable Pet of the Week every Tuesday in the Kane County Connects newsletter.
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