Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010
PL 111-294 (H.R.5566), enacted 12/09/2010

124 STAT. 3177 
PUBLIC LAW 111–294—DEC. 9, 2010 
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 dis-
tribution of obscene material and speech that is integral to 
criminal conduct. 
(2) The Federal Government and the States have a compel-
ling 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 com-
monly 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, mar-
keting, 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] 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
07:50 Dec 07, 2012
Jkt 089194
PO 00003
Frm 00920
Fmt 6580
Sfmt 6581
G:\GSDD\STATUTES\2010\PT3\89194PT3.001
89194PT3
dkrause on DSKHT7XVN1PROD with $$_JOB
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 non- 
human 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 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. 
‘‘(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, dis-
tribution, 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. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
07:50 Dec 07, 2012
Jkt 089194
PO 00003
Frm 00921
Fmt 6580
Sfmt 6581
G:\GSDD\STATUTES\2010\PT3\89194PT3.001
89194PT3
dkrause on DSKHT7XVN1PROD with $$_JOB
124 STAT. 3179 
PUBLIC LAW 111–294—DEC. 9, 2010 
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. 
‘‘(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. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
07:50 Dec 07, 2012
Jkt 089194
PO 00003
Frm 00922
Fmt 6580
Sfmt 6580
G:\GSDD\STATUTES\2010\PT3\89194PT3.001
89194PT3
dkrause on DSKHT7XVN1PROD with $$_JOB