II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4601 

To establish an Animal Cruelty Crimes Section within the Department of 

Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 

Mr. BRAUN (for himself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. KENNEDY) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish an Animal Cruelty Crimes Section within the 

Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Animal Cruelty En5 forcement Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) There is a significant connection between 

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1 tic violence, child abuse, sexual abuse, homicide, 

2 gang activity, drug trafficking, and other crimes. 

3 (2) Animal fighting activity may increase the 

4 spread of diseases transmitted between animals and 

5 people. 

6 (3) A number of Federal laws have been en7 acted to address cruelty to animals. 

8 (4) Recognizing the connection between animal 

9 cruelty and serious crimes the Federal Bureau of In10 vestigation tracks animal cruelty crimes. 

11 (5) There is bipartisan and widespread public 

12 support for addressing animal cruelty. 

13 (6) There is a government interest in ensuring 

14 laws are robustly enforced for the betterment and 

15 protection of society. 

16 (7) The lack of a dedicated animal crimes en17 forcement unit within the Department of Justice has 

18 resulted in unacceptable delays in prosecutions, and 

19 an overall lack of prosecution, of animal crimes. 

20 (8) Dedicated staff and resources at the De21 partment of Justice will facilitate successful enforce22 ment of animal cruelty laws, which often have 

23 unique investigative elements, by providing special24 ized knowledge and focus, and streamlining the han25 dling of these offenses. 


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1 SEC. 3. ANIMAL CRUELTY CRIMES SECTION OF THE DE2 PARTMENT OF JUSTICE. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an Ani4 mal Cruelty Crimes Section within the Environment and 

5 Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice 

6 to enforce Federal laws prohibiting animal cruelty under 

7 the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice. 

8 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Animal Cruelty 

9 Crimes Section is to enforce Federal laws prohibiting ani10 mal cruelty under the jurisdiction of the Department of 

11 Justice and to vigorously pursue investigations and pros12 ecutions under such laws. 

13 (c) COORDINATION.—The Animal Cruelty Crimes 

14 Section shall coordinate with the Department of Agri15 culture, the Office of Inspector General of the Department 

16 of Agriculture, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the 

17 United States Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border 

18 Protection, and other agencies, as appropriate. 

19 (d) REPORT.—On the date that is 1 year after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

21 the Animal Cruelty Crimes Section shall submit to Con22 gress a report on, for the previous year— 

23 (1) the number of charges that were filed for 

24 violations of laws described in subsection (b), 

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1 lated, the State in which the violation was alleged to 

2 have occurred, and the number of convictions; and 

3 (2) the number of investigations of violations of 

4 laws described in subsection (b) for which charges 

5 were not filed. 

Æ 


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