Animal Cruelty Now a Felony – The PACT ACT

A bipartisan bill sponsored by Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), strengthening a 2010 animal cruelty law, now called The PACT Act, passed and was signed into law by the president. The 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.”

The term “animal crushing” for purposes of this prohibition means the same thing as it does in regard to the depictions banned in 2010, and the PACT Act would not rewrite the 2010 law and would be limited to interstate commerce and federal property.

The PACT Act would also not interfere with state cruelty laws and would be modeled on the federal animal fighting law. The PACT Act would not preempt or interfere with local animal cruelty laws or enforcement. The bill would be a federal overlay, exactly like the federal animal fighting law.

To read the exact bill, go to: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/724/text

Photo: A Humane World