H. R. 724 
One Hundred Sixteenth Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE FIRST SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and nineteen 
An Act 
To revise section 48 of title 18, United States Code, 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 ‘‘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: 
‘‘§ 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 terri-
torial jurisdiction of the United States. 
‘‘(2) CREATION OF ANIMAL CRUSH VIDEOS.—It shall be unlaw-
ful 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.—
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‘‘(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 per-
son; 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 con-
strued 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, suffo-
cated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury 
(as defined in section 1365 and including conduct that, if com-
mitted against a person and in the special maritime and terri-
torial 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 fol-
lowing: 
‘‘48. Animal crushing.’’. 
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 
The budgetary effects of this Act, and the amendments made 
by this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-
H. R. 724—3 
As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the 
latest statement titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ 
for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 
by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage. 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.