Humane Investigation
Twenty-four-hours-a-day, our humane investigators respond to complaints of animal cruelty and neglect. In a typical year, we investigate in excess of 400 cases.
When responding to cruelty complaints, humane investigators make every effort to educate offenders before taking steps to impound an animal. We also work in conjunction with city and county law enforcement and animal control officers ... at no cost to the taxpayer ... to alleviate the problem of stray, unwanted, or abandoned animals.
Illinois law makes it a crime for anyone to "beat, cruelly treat, torment, starve, overwork or otherwise abuse any animal. No owner may abandon any animal where it may become a public charge or may suffer injury, hunger or exposure."
If you see (or suspect) animal abuse or neglect, please call the Humane Society of Central Illinois at (309)451-1000. A volunteer investigator will contact you for details as the first step in investigating the situation. All information is kept confidential and will never be released.
Emergency Answering Service
In the event of an after hours emergency situation involving a domestic animal, callers should dial HSCI's office number (309)451-1000 and dial "0" when prompted. This will connect callers to our Emergency Answering Service. During normal office hours, please call (309)451-1000 and wait until someone answers. We sometimes miss calls during very busy periods so please keep trying.
Tragic Tails
Tragic Tails are summaries of actual neglect/abuse cases investigated locally by HSCI. These summaries are typical of the hundreds of cases we investigate yearly. We have included the summaries on our website to call attention to the animal neglect and abuse that happens locally, and make it easier to understand why HSCI asks for public support. Please be aware the summaries and pictures may be considered upsetting, and they are not appropriate for younger visitors.
Investigation Considerations
There are many things to consider regarding Humane Investigation. For details, please review the Investigation Considerations webpage.
