Trump Signs Bill Making Animal Cruelty a Felony, Banning Horrible 'Animal Crushing' Torture

President Donald Trump just signed an important bill to deal with the horrible issue of videos of animal torture.

While a prior Obama bill had outlawed the videos, they didn’t ban the actual acts of cruelty against the animals.

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The Senate unanimously passed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act this month after a similar House vote in late October. It applies to non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, building on a 2010 law that criminalized the distributon of so-called ‘crush’ videos—footage meant to satisfy an unusual sexual fetish—by also outlawing the production of the films.

Producing a crush video typically consists of filming a small animal being killed by stomping on it. But the new law expands the definition to include animals that are ‘purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury.’

President Trump said the bill would stop people from sharing footage of animal cruelty. ‘It is important that we combat these heinous and sadistic acts of cruelty,’ he said.

President @realDonaldTrump just signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act into law—which makes it a Federal crime to engage in animal crushing. pic.twitter.com/pqYKamPGFZ

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 26, 2019

Animal welfare advocate Lara Trump cheered the actions of her father-in-law, saying she could “not be more excited” that this dealt with this “unacceptable” cruelty.

‘Our companion pets are family members, and our working dogs are our heroes, and any movement to signal and enforce a positive environment for these great animals is a step in the right direction,’ Ms. Trump said.

People convicted under the act may not only get fines, but they can also get seven years in prison.

The President spoke about how important it was to protect animals and he mentioned how much they add to out lives, from our pets to our heros like Conan the Special Forces dog.

From USA Today:

“This common sense legislation restricts the creation and distribution of videos or images of animal torture,” Trump said Monday at the bill signing. “It is important that we combat these heinous and sadistic acts of cruelty, which are totally unacceptable in a civilized society.”

Trump noted the role animals play “in the development, settlement, security and happiness of our country.” He specifically called out Conan, a military dog injured during the mission that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Conan was honored in a White House ceremony Monday.

“Conan was something and created quite a stir,” Trump said.

Good news and another way to help protect animals.