10-24-2019, 09:57 AM
Since the gob'ment seems to be under the impression that they had to constantly pass more and more laws, at least they're doing something useful for a change.
Most animal cruelty isnâ€t a federal crime. The House just passed a bill to change that.
Many acts of animal cruelty are closer to becoming federal felonies after the Houseâ€s unanimous passage Tuesday of the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act.
If passed by the Senate and enacted, the bill will outlaw purposeful crushing, burning, drowning, suffocation, impalement or other violence causing “serious bodily injury†to animals. Violations could result in a fine as well as up to seven years†imprisonment.
Advocates say the PACT Act would fill crucial gaps in national law, which only bans animal fighting as well as the making and sharing of videos that show the kind of abuse the PACT Act would criminalize. All states have provisions against animal cruelty, said Kitty Block, president of the Humane Society of the United States, but without a federal ban, itâ€s hard to prosecute cases that span different jurisdictions or that occur in airports, military bases and other places under federal purview.
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“This really is something that should pass,†Block told The Washington Post. “Itâ€s not controversial. Itâ€s what the American people want.â€
Holly Gann, director of federal affairs for the Animal Wellness Foundation, said in a statement that most people “are shocked†that the law is not already on the books.
The bipartisan act, introduced by Reps. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) and Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), builds on a 2010 law that targets videos depicting animal cruelty, spurred by disgust over a gruesome genre of “crush†videos often showing small critters stomped under a womanâ€s shoe.
Block says videos capturing such torture needed to be addressed at the federal level because content shared online transcends state boundaries. But no national law targets the acts behind the films — despite previous congressional efforts with widespread support.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2...ange-that/
Most animal cruelty isnâ€t a federal crime. The House just passed a bill to change that.
Many acts of animal cruelty are closer to becoming federal felonies after the Houseâ€s unanimous passage Tuesday of the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act.
If passed by the Senate and enacted, the bill will outlaw purposeful crushing, burning, drowning, suffocation, impalement or other violence causing “serious bodily injury†to animals. Violations could result in a fine as well as up to seven years†imprisonment.
Advocates say the PACT Act would fill crucial gaps in national law, which only bans animal fighting as well as the making and sharing of videos that show the kind of abuse the PACT Act would criminalize. All states have provisions against animal cruelty, said Kitty Block, president of the Humane Society of the United States, but without a federal ban, itâ€s hard to prosecute cases that span different jurisdictions or that occur in airports, military bases and other places under federal purview.
AD
“This really is something that should pass,†Block told The Washington Post. “Itâ€s not controversial. Itâ€s what the American people want.â€
Holly Gann, director of federal affairs for the Animal Wellness Foundation, said in a statement that most people “are shocked†that the law is not already on the books.
The bipartisan act, introduced by Reps. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) and Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), builds on a 2010 law that targets videos depicting animal cruelty, spurred by disgust over a gruesome genre of “crush†videos often showing small critters stomped under a womanâ€s shoe.
Block says videos capturing such torture needed to be addressed at the federal level because content shared online transcends state boundaries. But no national law targets the acts behind the films — despite previous congressional efforts with widespread support.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2...ange-that/