Senate Passes Deutch, Buchanan Bill to Make Animal Abuse a Federal Offense

On November 5, the U.S. Senate passed by unanimous consent the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act (H.R. 724), introduced by Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-22) and Congressman Vern Buchanan (FL-16) to criminalize certain acts of animal cruelty.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the PACT Act on October 22. The bill now heads to President Trump's desk.

Congressman Deutch: "Preventing animal cruelty is not partisan; it's part of our values as a country. I'm proud that this legislation moved so swiftly through Congress, with such broad bipartisan support. Our country needs a federal law to prevent abuse against animals. After years of hard work by so many to build support for this bill, we are now one signature away from it becoming the law of the land. I urge President Trump to quickly sign this bill into law and make animal cruelty a federal offense."

In 2010, Congress passed the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act, which made the creation and distribution of animal crushing videos illegal. However, the underlying acts of cruelty against animals were not included. The PACT Act closes this loophole by prohibiting certain cases of animal abuse.

A fact sheet for the PACT Act can be found here.