[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 724 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        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:
``Sec. 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 territorial 
    jurisdiction of the United States.
        ``(2) 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.
        ``(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.--
        ``(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 
        person; 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 construed 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, 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);
        ``(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 following:

``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-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.