In a momentous change to US animal welfare legislation, the president signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT) into law on Monday, making animal cruelty a federally prosecutable crime for the first time.
LFT would like to thank the almost 40,000 readers who signed our petition and wrote to their legislators to help this crucial bill pass. Our voices, and those of animal advocates across the nation, were heard!
This welcome move is the final step in progressing the bill after the Senate unanimously passed it earlier this month. The law will prohibit violence against animals, including suffocation, burning, crushing, impalement and drowning among other acts that cause bodily harm. If found guilty, perpetrators of these horrific crimes could face up to a 7-year prison sentence as well as a fine.
The bipartisan bill is designed to plug holes in the current law and make it easier to prosecute incidents of animal cruelty that cross state lines or are committed in areas that come under federal control. It is an extension of a 2010 law banning videos showing animals being tortured, and adds the deliberate acts of cruelty in these videos to the list of prosecutable felony crimes.
“The torture of innocent animals is abhorrent and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” commented Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), who introduced the act along with Ted Deutch (D-Fla.). “Signing this bill into law is a significant milestone for pet owners and animal lovers across the country.”
What’s New…
No Animals Should Be Abused. As humans, our job is to protect them.
No Animals Should Be Abused
I was disturbed to find out this law does not do what we think it does. It only deals with specific kinds of incidents so before you thank your congressperson or the President, check it out. In reading it, it appears to be a superficial animal protection law. Please check and then contact your lawmakers and ask them to make this right.
WONDERFUL NEWS !!! MUST BE SURE EVERYONE IN CHARGE DOES THIER JOB MAKING “SURE” ALL ABUSERS GET “SEVERELY PUNISHED “ immediately …… DO NOT WAIT !!!
WONDERFUL NEWS !!! MUST BE SURE EVERYONE IN CHARGE DOES THIER JOB MAKING “SURE” ALL ABUSERS GET “SEVERELY PUNISHED “ immediately …… DO NOT WAIT !!!
This is good news, cruelty needs to STOP!
I’m truly happy for the reform these petitions are helping engineer. It’s high time the voiceless have their cases heard! I’m grateful to be a member here and for the changes that are happening because of good minded people. The fact that law enforcers are taking these matters seriously and delivering harsher sentences is comforting. I can’t fathom being at the mercy of the types we petition against here. Albeit, we petition the laws more so than the actual abusers, it’s still a proper step forward in prevention of cruelty on our non human animals.
I’d personally like to see changes made so that the abusers face much more aggressive sentences, taking their freedom away permanently. While I’m pleased that some have been restricted by law from having animals, I will like for their rights be stripped entirely! I’ve signed many petitions here that included comments such as, abusers should have no rights. I may be just as awful as they are for saying that but I believe it to my core. Anyone that can do the crimes that we petition law changes for and tougher sentencing on, they are missing something and cannot grasp the idea of their actions being wrong and inhumane. It’s unfortunate that they don’t have to abide to a life on 24/7 surveillance or in a psychiatric hospital until they die. I fear for non-human animals that without close watch, a lot of these abusers will do it again and worse. My hope is that we get ahead of these personalities before more non-human animals (eventually humans) fall victim to them.
I will add that I’m so proud of all of the senators in the U.S. government for their unity and president Trump for signing the legislation that has made animal abusers prosecutable by federal laws, making any abusers of non-human animals more susceptible to maximum punishments! This is by far, one of the best things the Trump administration has put forth as a positive in the history books. Good for you, Mr. President Trump and Senate.
https://www.animals24-7.org/2019/11/29/hsus-donald-trump-the-pact-act-the-art-of-the-deal/ read it please. The PACT Act is meaningless.
Thanks again Julia for informing everyone about this! Lack of actual information is how so many politicians get away with murder, so to speak, with being so corrupt and ruled by big moneyed interests. Additionally, much of the public is always willing and ready to believe in fairy tales…because it is easier, psychologically, than looking at a harsh and unpleasant political reality.
This wonderful news. 🐶🐕🐾
So does this mean that Trump Jr. won’t be able to slaughter elephants and get his picture taken proudly holding the elephant’s tail?
Ha ha…no it doesn’t, because Trump Jr. has to keep attempting to prove his masculinity by shooting leopards and wild elephants with a high powered rifle and then cutting their tail off and posing on Facebook with the bloody tail and the knife, trying to look like Hemingway. Seriously, Trump lifted the ban on imported hunting trophies, because he knows his sons and other perverted rich f—s have some killing to do in Africa and other places. Apparently there are still a few wild animals walking around and what a waste it would be to let them live, when they look so much better stuffed and hanging on a mention wall!.
A good first step. But we have to keep up the pressure for them to condemn ALL forms of cruelty, and there are so many.
This needs to be all around the world and for ALL animals.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Animal cruelty/abuse/neglect/murder etc IS the same as if it were a child.
Animal cruelty has to be punished and not just a small fine.
These horrible people that do bad things to helpless animals to cause pain is unforgivable.
It is so heart breaking to know so much cruelty is going on all over the world.