The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Toomey lauds passage of federal animal cruelty law
Pennsylvania Republican helps craft act that awaits president’s signature
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is taking a stand for animals, and his Capitol Hill colleagues are joining him.
On Tuesday, the Senate unanimously passed the Prevent Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, a bill crafted by the Pennsylvania Republican and Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal. The bill was unanimously approved by the House last month and is awaiting the President Donald Trump’s signature.
On a conference call Thursday, Toomey celebrated the bill’s passage.
“This is the right and decent thing to do,” he said, adding that no society should turn a bling eye to the willful torture of animals.
The PACT Act takes aim at what is known as “crushing,” what Toomey described as deranged individuals maiming or torturing animals. Often the acts are recorded and the videos are distributed to other deranged individuals, he said. Selling videos depicting animal torture was made a federal crime in 2010, but the underlying abuse was not.
“Crushing” can include burning, drowning, suffocating or impaling animals or sexually exploiting them. The PACT Act will make crushing a federal felony with a punishment ranging from fines to seven years in prison.
Toomey said that while all 50 states have animal cruelty laws on the books, they were lacking at the federal level. That meant there was no way to prosecute people who abuse animals as part of interstate commerce or on federallyowned lands, which makes up just shy of 30% of the country’s land mass.
“They have no jurisdiction there,” Toomey said of state’s powers on federal lands. “This is just
a natural compliment to have the states and federal government working towards the same goal.”
Toomey said the PACT Act not only will help protect animals, but people as well. He said many of the warped individuals who abuse animals eventually turn to harming humans, often children.
Kristen Tullo, Humane Society’s Pennsylvania state director, lauded Toomey’s efforts to pass the PACT Act.
“This is truly a huge victory for animals in our nation,” she said.
Tullo said the U.S. is following the example of Pennsylvania, which with the passage of Libre’s Law in 2017 increased penalties for animal abusers. She said the support that law has received shows animal cruelty is a very important concern for the strong-minded and kindhearted people in the commonwealth.
Tullow encouraged supporters of the PACT Act to call their senators and representatives to thank them for their support and to call the White House and leave a message encouraging the president to sign the bill.
She also urged everyone to do their part to protect animals by reporting animal cruelty to local or state authorities.
“If you see something, say something,” she said.