In 2010, a law was passed that punishes people if they create and sell videos of them abusing animals. While this law was a step in the right direction, it didn’t fully address the animal abuse problem. There were many horrible people that were still not punished for harming animals. So, the House recently revisited this topic and realized that more had to be done with this law. From there, they decided to pass a new animal cruelty law.
The new law is called the PACT Act, which stands for Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture. This law is expanding on the previous 2010 law, which was called the Animal Crush Prohibition Act. The 2010 law still allowed acts of cruelty against animals to remain legal though, so that is why this new law was proposed.
The PACT Act is a bipartisan act that was introduced by Florida congressmen Ted Deutch and Vern Buchanan. Buchanan was a co-sponsor when the bill was passed back in 2010.
“The torture of innocent animals is abhorrent and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Buchanan said. “Passing the PACT Act sends a strong message that this behavior will not be tolerated.”
The New Law
This new law will cover all different forms of animal abuse. Under the PACT Act, a person can be prosecuted for crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, impaling, or sexually exploiting an animal. All these actions are unforgivable and it’s hard to believe that they weren’t a federal felony before this act.
Under this law, these acts do not need to be recorded and sold to be punished. Just the act of bringing harm to an animal is enough for the person to be convicted.
For anyone convicted of these horrible acts, they will face fines and up to seven years in prison. There are a few exceptions of this law for hunting, veterinary care, and self defense.
So far, the House has passed the bill, but it still needs to be approved by the Senate. They have not scheduled a vote on it yet, but all animal lovers are hoping that this new law will finally become a reality. The bill has even been endorsed by the National Sheriffs’ Association and the Fraternal Order of Police.
No animal deserves to be abused or tortured, so this new law could really make a difference for all the sweet, innocent animals out there. Anyone who hurts an animal deserves to be punished for their actions, so this new law could make a huge difference for both animals and all the people out there that care about them.
H/T: buchanan.house.gov
Toledo, United States.
