President Trump Signs Animal Cruelty Bill Into Law

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump signed the PACT act (Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture) into law, making intentional acts of cruelty to animals a federal crime with a penalty of up to 7 years in prison.

The bill was introduced in the House earlier this year by two lawmakers from Florida, Rep. Ted Deutch and Rep. Vern Buchanan. It expands an earlier law from 2010 that was signed by President Barack Obama. The law banned videos that show animals being tortured: crushed, burned, impaled, drowned or suffocated. Under the new law, intentional acts of cruelty shown in videos are also felony offences.

Said President Trump during the signing ceremony:  “It is important that we combat these heinous and sadistic acts of cruelty, which are totally unacceptable in a civilized society.”

Federal law in the United States already bans sponsoring animal fights, and laws in all states include provisions for animal cruelty. But this bill will help prosecutors handle cases of abused animals that cross state lines, and channel more resources towards investigating and prosecuting animal cruelty cases.

Kitty Block, President and Chief Executive of the Humane Society of the United States said, “The approval of this measure by the Congress and the president marks a new era in the codification of kindness to animals within federal law. For decades, a national anti-cruelty law was a dream for animal protectionists. Today, it is a reality.”

The bill was passed unanimously by a voice vote in the House in October. It was passed unanimously by the Senate in November and went into effect on Monday this week. 

_{*Feature image courtesy NYT}

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