PUBLIC LAW 111–294—DEC. 9, 2010 124 STAT. 3177 

Public Law 111–294 

111th Congress 

An Act 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit interstate commerce in animal 

crush videos, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Animal Crush Video Prohibition 

Act of 2010’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

The Congress finds the following: 

(1) The United States has a long history of prohibiting 

the interstate sale, marketing, advertising, exchange, and distribution of obscene material and speech that is integral to 

criminal conduct. 

(2) The Federal Government and the States have a compelling interest in preventing intentional acts of extreme animal 

cruelty. 

(3) Each of the several States and the District of Columbia 

criminalize intentional acts of extreme animal cruelty, such 

as the intentional crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, 

or impaling of animals for no socially redeeming purpose. 

(4) There are certain extreme acts of animal cruelty that 

appeal to a specific sexual fetish. These acts of extreme animal 

cruelty are videotaped, and the resulting video tapes are commonly referred to as ‘‘animal crush videos’’. 

(5) The Supreme Court of the United States has long 

held that obscenity is an exception to speech protected under 

the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. 

(6) In the judgment of Congress, many animal crush videos 

are obscene in the sense that the depictions, taken as a whole— 

(A) appeal to the prurient interest in sex; 

(B) are patently offensive; and 

(C) lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific 

value. 

(7) Serious criminal acts of extreme animal cruelty are 

integral to the creation, sale, distribution, advertising, marketing, and exchange of animal crush videos. 

(8) The creation, sale, distribution, advertising, marketing, 

and exchange of animal crush videos is intrinsically related 

and integral to creating an incentive for, directly causing, and 

perpetuating demand for the serious acts of extreme animal 

cruelty the videos depict. The primary reason for those criminal 

18 USC 48 note. 

18 USC 1 note. 

Animal Crush 

Video Prohibition 

Act of 2010. 

Dec. 9, 2010 

[H.R. 5566] 


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124 STAT. 3178 PUBLIC LAW 111–294—DEC. 9, 2010 

acts is the creation, sale, distribution, advertising, marketing, 

and exchange of the animal crush video image. 

(9) The serious acts of extreme animal cruelty necessary 

to make animal crush videos are committed in a clandestine 

manner that— 

(A) allows the perpetrators of such crimes to remain 

anonymous; 

(B) makes it extraordinarily difficult to establish the 

jurisdiction within which the underlying criminal acts of 

extreme animal cruelty occurred; and 

(C) often precludes proof that the criminal acts 

occurred within the statute of limitations. 

(10) Each of the difficulties described in paragraph (9) 

seriously frustrates and impedes the ability of State authorities 

to enforce the criminal statutes prohibiting such behavior. 

SEC. 3. ANIMAL CRUSH VIDEOS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 48 of title 18, United States Code, 

is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘§ 48. Animal crush videos 

‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section the term ‘animal crush video’ 

means any photograph, motion-picture film, video or digital 

recording, or electronic image that— 

‘‘(1) depicts actual conduct in which 1 or more living nonhuman mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians is intentionally 

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); and 

‘‘(2) is obscene. 

‘‘(b) PROHIBITIONS.— 

‘‘(1) 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. 

‘‘(2) 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. 

‘‘(c) EXTRATERRITORIAL APPLICATION.—Subsection (b) shall 

apply 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. 

‘‘(d) PENALTY.—Any person who violates subsection (b) shall 

be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 7 years, 

or both. 

18 USC 48. 


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PUBLIC LAW 111–294—DEC. 9, 2010 124 STAT. 3179 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 5566: 

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 111–549 (Comm. on the Judiciary). 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 156 (2010): 

July 20, 21, considered and passed House. 

Sept. 28, considered and passed Senate, amended. 

Nov. 15, House concurred in Senate amendment with an amendment 

pursuant to H. Res. 1712. 

Nov. 19, Senate concurred in House amendment. 

Æ 

‘‘(e) EXCEPTIONS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall not apply with regard 

to any visual depiction of— 

‘‘(A) customary and normal veterinary or agricultural 

husbandry practices; 

‘‘(B) the slaughter of animals for food; or 

‘‘(C) hunting, trapping, or fishing. 

‘‘(2) GOOD-FAITH DISTRIBUTION.—This section shall 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. 

‘‘(f) NO PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed 

to preempt the law of any State or local subdivision thereof to 

protect animals.’’. 

(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The item relating to section 48 

in the table of sections for chapter 3 of title 18, United States 

Code, is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘48. Animal crush videos.’’. 

(c) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of section 48 of title 18, 

United States Code (as amended by this section), or the application 

of the provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be 

unconstitutional, the provision and the application of the provision 

to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. 

SEC. 4. PAYGO COMPLIANCE. 

The budgetary effects of this Act, for purposes of complying 

with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined 

by reference to the latest statement titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of 

PAYGO Legislation’’ for this Act, jointly submitted for printing 

in the Congressional Record by the Chairmen of the House and 

Senate Budget Committees, provided that such statement has been 

submitted prior to the vote on passage in the House acting first 

on this conference report or amendments between the Houses. 

Approved December 9, 2010. 

18 USC 48 note. 


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