United States Statutes at Large, Volume 124, 111th Congress, 2nd Session

[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 124, 111th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


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
distribution of obscene material and speech that is integral to
criminal conduct.
(2) The Federal Government and the States have a compelling
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
commonly 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,
marketing, 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

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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:
``Sec. 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 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.
``(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, 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.

``(d) Penalty.--Any person who violates subsection (b) shall be
fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 7 years, or both.

[[Page 3179]]

``(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.

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.