Legal News for Animals Across the Nation

UPDATED Nov. 25, 2019

Today, November 25, 2019, President Trump signed the historic PACT (Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture) Act into law.  This new law will make certain acts of animal abuse a federal felony, including [GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS AHEAD] crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating or impaling live animals, along with sexual exploitation of an animal.  We applaud the bipartisan teamwork that brought this bill into law, that will hopefully make the United States a safer home for animals, and impose more severe penalties against those who might do them harm.

Last month, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we wrote on this website about “The Link,” a connection between animal cruelty, abuse or neglect and incidences of violence in the home.  Across the nation, professionals involved in human and animal welfare are viewing instances of animal cruelty with even greater severity, because they have read the studies and seen firsthand that this abuse or neglect is unlikely to be an isolated instance, and that if an animal is being mistreated in the home, there is a great likelihood that humans in the home are also being mistreated.  

We are proud to be part of a team in Alexandria, including the Alexandria police and sheriff’s departments, that investigates cases of animal abuse and how that abuse may translate to humans in the household, and we work with the City and Commonwealth’s Attorneys to make sure those charges are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, for the safety of the animals and people involved.  As of July 1, 2019, after Virginia passed “Tommie’s Law,” the impact of that law became even more serious, as cases of animal cruelty can now be considered a Class 6 felony (previously only abuse resulting in the death of an animal could be considered a felony).

We also shared that the “PACT Act” (Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture) was passed unanimously by the U.S. House of Representatives, and just yesterday, the U.S. Senate also unanimously passed this bill.  The “PACT Act” would expand the implications of “Tommie’s Law” to a federal level and would make certain acts of animal cruelty a federal felony, including [GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS AHEAD] crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating or impaling live animals, along with sexual exploitation of an animal. Now that this bill has unanimously passed both houses of Congress, it will be sent to President Trump for final action.

If you are interested in making your voice heard as this fateful decision is made at the highest level in the nation, you can call the White House switchboard at (202) 456-1414 and ask to leave a comment for the President as he considers this bill.  If you have questions about this statement or the AWLA’s involvement in Alexandria’s Coordinated Community Response efforts, please contact us at (703) 746-4774 or connect@alexandriaanimals.org.

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