Dear Humanitarian,

Some time ago, we asked you to contact House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to ask that he schedule a vote on H.R. 1494, the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act. Because of the objection of one member of the House, he has failed to do so, even though this bill has 282 cosponsors—more than 60 percent of the House, an almost unprecedented level of bipartisan support.

One year ago, on December 14, 2017, the Senate passed its version of the bill, S. 654. It is shameful that, as the 115th Congress is about to turn out the lights and go home, the House still has not acted on this legislation. Outgoing Majority Leader McCarthy should bring this important bill to the floor now in order to outlaw sadistic and brutal acts of animal cruelty.

Background

In so-called “crush videos,” individuals viciously torture, mutilate, and kill small animals to satisfy the bizarre fetishes of viewers. Although there is a federal law prohibiting the creation and distribution of such videos, it does not cover the underlying acts of animal abuse. Often, it is not possible to identify from the video alone where the act took place—thus rendering it out of reach of state laws that might otherwise punish the perpetrators. The PACT Act would eliminate this problem by extending federal jurisdiction to these particularly heinous acts.

Preventing and punishing such cruelty is critical to ensuring both animal welfare and human safety. More and more, the law enforcement and legal communities recognize that animal cruelty is a serious crime in and of itself and a precursor to other violent crimes. By providing law enforcement and the criminal justice system with another tool for responding to unspeakable acts of animal cruelty, the PACT Act would protect our communities from many types of violence.