The U.S. Senate passed a bill declaring animal abuse a crime nationwide.

The so-called PACT – Law on the Prevention of Cruelty and Torture of Animals, was adopted unanimously. A bill passed in the Senate makes animal cruelty a federal offense, followed by a fine or a sentence of up to seven years in prison.

The Law was adopted unanimously

Until recently, federal law prohibited only animal fighting and treated cruelty to animals as a crime only if the act was recorded on camera to sell the recording. Yet the law never explicitly forbade the very act of torturing animals.

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Although all 50 states have laws to prevent cruelty to animals, this comprehensive federal law was passed for the first time in the country’s history. Animal rights activists have welcomed the change, including the Alliance for the Human Rescue – one of the largest such organizations in the United States.

The new measure bans mammals, birds, reptiles or amphibians from being intentionally burned, drowned, suffocated, pierced or harmed by any other serious bodily injury. The perpetrators of such acts are considered criminally responsible.

The perpetrators of such acts are considered criminally responsible.

According to the FBI, animal cruelty is often linked to violence against humans. Only in 2016 did the FBI begin keeping records of all animal cruelty cases, and representatives of the Human Rescue Alliance believe that thousands of such cases occur every year.

Not everyone, however, is quite happy with the law. Many believe that there are many more holes in it that the perpetrators can exploit.

Pets and animals are now safer

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“PACT makes a statement about American values. Animals are deserving of protection at the highest level,” Block said in a statement. “The approval of this measure by the Congress and the president marks a new era in the codification of kindness to animals within federal law. For decades, a national anti-cruelty law was a dream for animal protectionists. Today, it is a reality.”

It now remains for President Donald Trump to sign the PACT bill. In October, the House of Representatives passed an identical version of the bill, which now goes to the White House, and President Trump is expected to sign it.