For every animal lover, cases of animal cruelty, whether it is abuse or neglect, are a reality that is always hard to accept. Most of us simply cannot understand how certain individuals could harm innocent and loving creatures.

For this reason, animal protection laws were created and research continues to be done in this area to try to prevent not only animal cruelty but also criminal violence cases. The Humane Society of the United States crafted a document called First Strike: The Violence Connection that proves this fact by relying on multiple studies that show that animal cruelty is linked to violence against people, private property violation, and drug crimes.

Is Animal Cruelty Linked To Criminal Violence?

Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act

Animal cruelty is a felony in all 50 states of the United States. In our article A Dog, A Miracle and An Animal Cruelty Law, we shared the story of Patrick, who was found miraculously alive inside a plastic bag in a dumpster in Newark, New Jersey, in 2011. While Patrick struggled to survive and recover, a movement was created to raise awareness about animal abuse as well as the need for state and federal animal welfare laws and an Animal Abuser Registry.

A Dog, A Miracle and An Animal Cruelty Law

On November 25, 2019, President Donald J. Trump signed the PACT Act, making heinous and sadistic acts of cruelty against living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians a federal felony. Some of the extreme acts that the PACT Act considers as crimes include intentional crushing, suffocating, drowning, burning and impalement, punishable by a fine, up to seven years in prison or both.

This new bills is an extension and strengthening of a 2010 legislation that made the creation, sale and distribution of extreme animal cruelty videos illegal. Thanks to the PACT Act, federal authorities can now also prosecute individuals in those videos.

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This new law came to be on the same day that President Trump received and honored Conan, the famous military dog hero, at the White House. Conan, a Belgian Malinois, was a member of the special forces team that led the mission which resulted in the capture and death of the leader of ISIS, one of the most wanted terrorists worldwide.

All of these good news for animal and dog lovers are a great motivator as the crusade for animal rights continues.

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Is Animal Cruelty Linked To Criminal Violence?