On December 9, 2010, President Obama signed the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act (PL 111-294) into law. This bill reestablished the ban on the production, distribution or sale of videos depicting animal cruelty (that had been overturned by the Supreme Court earlier that year). The bill was sponsored by Gallegly (CA-24).
The Supreme Court handed a victory to animal abusers on April 20, 2010 when it overturned the federal law prohibiting the creation, sale, and possession of depictions of animal cruelty for commercial purposes.
Why is this important?
Crush videos are recordings which typically depict women in stilettos or bare feet literally crushing, stomping on, or impaling small, helpless animals to satisfy the bizarre sexual fetishes of sadistic viewers. The Animal Welfare Institute is vehemently opposed to “crush videos” and has supported federal legislation intended to stop the trade in these films in the US.
Even when such practices run afoul of animal cruelty laws, the actual perpetrators of the acts are difficult to prosecute as they seldom show their faces on camera or openly acknowledge participation. Instead, these videos are distributed and sold by third parties—whose acts of disseminating the materials may fall outside the animal cruelty laws. A law was needed to allow the prosecution of those who were making and selling such films—individuals who supported the activity and profited from the animal suffering.
Find out more about crush videos.