PACT Act

Summary: Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act or the PACT Act (Sec. 2) This bill amends the federal criminal code to revise and expand provisions with respect to animal crushing. It retains existing criminal offenses that prohibit knowingly creating or distributing an animal crush video using interstate commerce. The bill also adds a new provision to criminalize an intentional act of animal crushing. A violator is subject to criminal penalties&#8212;a fine, a prison term of up to seven years, or both. It provides additional exceptions for conduct, or a video of conduct, including conduct that is: (1) medical or scientific research, (2) necessary to protect the life or property of a person, (3) performed as part of euthanizing an animal, or (4) unintentional.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Animal Cruelty and 
Torture Act'' or the ``PACT Act''.

SEC. 2. REVISION OF SECTION 48.

    (a) In General.--Section 48 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 48. Animal crushing
    ``(a) Offenses.--
            ``(1) Crushing.--It shall be unlawful for any person to 
        purposely engage in animal crushing in or affecting interstate 
        or foreign commerce or within the special maritime and 
        territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
            ``(2) Creation of animal crush videos.--It shall be 
        unlawful for any person to knowingly create an animal crush 
        video, if--
                    ``(A) the person intends or has reason to know that 
                the animal crush video will be distributed in, or using 
                a means or facility of, interstate or foreign commerce; 
                or
                    ``(B) the animal crush video is distributed in, or 
                using a means or facility of, interstate or foreign 
                commerce.
            ``(3) Distribution of animal crush videos.--It shall be 
        unlawful for any person to knowingly sell, market, advertise, 
        exchange, or distribute an animal crush video in, or using a 
        means or facility of, interstate or foreign commerce.
    ``(b) Extraterritorial Application.--This section applies to the 
knowing sale, marketing, advertising, exchange, distribution, or 
creation of an animal crush video outside of the United States, if--
            ``(1) the person engaging in such conduct intends or has 
        reason to know that the animal crush video will be transported 
        into the United States or its territories or possessions; or
            ``(2) the animal crush video is transported into the United 
        States or its territories or possessions.
    ``(c) Penalties.--Whoever violates this section shall be fined 
under this title, imprisoned for not more than 7 years, or both.
    ``(d) Exceptions.--
            ``(1) In general.--This section does not apply with regard 
        to any conduct, or a visual depiction of that conduct, that 
        is--
                    ``(A) a customary and normal veterinary, 
                agricultural husbandry, or other animal management 
                practice;
                    ``(B) the slaughter of animals for food;
                    ``(C) hunting, trapping, fishing, a sporting 
                activity not otherwise prohibited by Federal law, 
                predator control, or pest control;
                    ``(D) medical or scientific research;
                    ``(E) necessary to protect the life or property of 
                a person; or
                    ``(F) performed as part of euthanizing an animal.
            ``(2)  Good-faith distribution.--This section does not 
        apply to the good-faith distribution of an animal crush video 
        to--
                    ``(A) a law enforcement agency; or
                    ``(B) a third party for the sole purpose of 
                analysis to determine if referral to a law enforcement 
                agency is appropriate.
            ``(3) Unintentional conduct.--This section does not apply 
        to unintentional conduct that injures or kills an animal.
            ``(4) Consistency with rfra.--This section shall be 
        enforced in a manner that is consistent with section 3 of the 
        Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb-1).
    ``(e) No Preemption.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
preempt the law of any State or local subdivision thereof to protect 
animals.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `animal crushing' means actual conduct in 
        which one or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or 
        amphibians is purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, 
        impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury (as 
        defined in section 1365 and including conduct that, if 
        committed against a person and in the special maritime and 
        territorial jurisdiction of the United States, would violate 
        section 2241 or 2242);
            ``(2) the term `animal crush video' means any photograph, 
        motion-picture film, video or digital recording, or electronic 
        image that--
                    ``(A) depicts animal crushing; and
                    ``(B) is obscene; and
            ``(3) the term `euthanizing an animal' means the humane 
        destruction of an animal accomplished by a method that--
                    ``(A) produces rapid unconsciousness and subsequent 
                death without evidence of pain or distress; or
                    ``(B) uses anesthesia produced by an agent that 
                causes painless loss of consciousness and subsequent 
                death.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 3 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the 
item relating to section 48 and inserting the following:

``48. Animal crushing.''.

            Passed the Senate December 10 (legislative day, December 
      9), 2016.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
114th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1831

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To revise section 48 of title 18, United States Code, and for other 
                               purposes.