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Residents and animal advocates urge DeKalb County board to ban steer‑tailing; board to refer issue to committees
Summary
Public commenters and animal‑welfare advocates told the DeKalb County Board that existing state law is not being enforced and urged a local ordinance to ban steer‑tailing; board members directed staff to take the issue to committee for study.
Public commenters at a DeKalb County Board meeting urged the county to act on alleged animal‑abuse at steer‑tailing events and asked the board to place an ordinance on a future agenda.
Jody Whitaker, who identified herself as a representative of Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, described a series of incidents she said occurred at steer‑tailing events: “They have electrocuted steers in their faces … with 10,000 volts of electricity,” Whitaker said, and listed what she described as broken limbs, degloved tails and other injuries. She asked the board to adopt local language that “mimics SB 45” and to work with SHARP on model ordinance language.
Steve Haneeth, a resident, cited a recent local newspaper column and said prosecutions in other counties show Illinois’ humane‑care statutes can support charges when abuse is documented. “No new laws are needed to prosecute those offenses,” he said, arguing the problem is enforcement rather than statutory gaps.
Several other residents, including Kathy Stelford of Open Acres Wildlife Center, urged quick action; Stelford asked that a member’s proposed ordinance be placed on the May agenda so the board can consider it formally.
Board members responded by discussing options for where the matter should be studied and which committees should consider it. Multiple members suggested referring the topic to existing committees — Health and Human Services, Law and Justice, and Zoning were mentioned — to gather legal analysis and local options before a full board vote. A member noted that state law and federal constraints may limit the county’s options but said a committee review would at least demonstrate the county’s position and provide policy recommendations.
The board did not vote on an ordinance at the meeting; instead members directed staff and the relevant committees to research options and report back. That is where the matter stands procedurally: the county will consider committee reports before any ordinance is drafted for a future vote.
