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Congress makes animal cruelty a federal felony

By Wesley Coburn

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - OCTOBER 25: Members of Congress attend the funeral service for Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) at New Psalmist Baptist Church on October 25, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. A sharecropper’s son who rose to become a civil rights champion and the chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Cummings died last week of complications from longstanding health problems. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - OCTOBER 25: Members of Congress attend the funeral service for Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) at New Psalmist Baptist Church on October 25, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. A sharecropper’s son who rose to become a civil rights champion and the chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Cummings died last week of complications from longstanding health problems. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) /
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Congress has passed a bill that makes some types of animal cruelty a federal felony.

On Tuesday afternoon, October 22, Congress (which is technically known as the U.S. House of Representatives) passed a bill making some types of animal cruelty a federal felony.

This news was previously reported by ABC News.

“This is long overdue, I’m very happy,” Dr. Mary Mackie, an English professor at Rogers State University and a longtime passionate animal advocate, told Dog O’Day.

The bill, which is called the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, or PACT Act, was introduced by Florida Republican Vern Buchanan and Florida Democrat Ted Deutch.

It is an extension of a 2010 law known as the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act, which is pretty straightforward, making videos of purposeful fatal crushing of animals illegal.

According to ABC News, the PACT Act makes it a federal crime for “any person to intentionally engage in animal crushing if the animals or animal crushing is in, substantially affects, or uses a means or facility of, interstate or foreign commerce.”

Violation of this law would mean a fine, a prison term of up to seven years, or both.

The Senate is also working on passing a similar bill, which is part of the process of how a bill becomes an actual law before the signature of the President officially makes it so, as The West Wing illustrated.

“The torture of innocent animals is abhorrent and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Buchanan said in a press release.

It wouldn’t make all forms of animal cruelty illegal – that would be nearly impossible – but it’s a good start. The PACT Act would only affect interstate commerce and federal property.

According to Congress.gov, there are four exceptions to the PACT Act: It will not affect instances of medical or scientific research, necessary to protect a person’s life and/or property, part of the euthanization process, or unintentional.

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This isn’t the only animal-related political law passed within the past 12 mpnths – Florida voters outlawed the racing of Greyhounds within the state last November, and in much lighter news, in the spring Ohio lawmakers made shelter pets the official state pet of the Buckeye State.

While it doesn’t completely account for all forms of animal cruelty, this is an important step.

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